From The Sea (Hiatus)
by TonTom
Summary: Percy Jackson. He has been unclaimed ever since he had arrived at the camp Half-Blood when he was seven. He is extremely well-known at camp, especially after saving Thalia Grace from her demise. For some peculiar reason, Percy didn't mind being unclaimed. In fact, he was happy about it. It seemed like he didn't want anyone to know that his father was part of the Big Three.
1. Chapter 1: After Dark

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or source material. All rights go to Rick Riordan and their appropriate artists. **

* * *

**Chapter 1: After Dark**

* * *

Run.

That's all anyone could do in such a dark forest.

Especially, a forest that was infested and overflowing with monsters.

The only light that illuminated anything was from the moon that pressed against the dark cloudy sky.

A sky that looked down upon the four running children that were made up of three demigods and one satyr.

And a giant creature that heaved through and looked over the grand pines of the forest. It had its eye on the children but one attracted its attention more than the others.

None of them dared to look back to stare up to its terrifying figure.

The group of children was led by a boy with a goat-like lower half. His hooves galloped across the dead leaves that scattered the forest's floor.

"C'mon!" The boy urged breathlessly, "We're so close!"

"Grover! How much longer!" The girl with blond hair asked with panic.

"Just don't look back, Annabeth!" The boy named Luke, who also with blond hair, begged.

While Grover, Annabeth, and Luke were trying to focus on outrunning the cyclops, the black-haired girl running beside them had her mind on something else.

She was, of course, distressed like her friends. But one thing was much more apparent than anything else right now to her.

It was all her fault. It was all Thalia Grace's fault, that they were being chased. Not just because she was a demigod. Everyone was a demigod in the group, except for Grover.

No.

It was something else.

Because of her _father_.

What a weird and inappropriate word to use to describe _him_. The most well-known god of the Big Three and Greek history.

He was the god of gods. The god of the sky. And most importantly, her _father._

Zeus.

Everyone knew that any descendant from the Big Three was immensely powerful even when compared to other demigods.

Because of this, many monsters would instantly be attracted to the presence of the offspring of the Big Three.

Thalia hated herself right now. She was supposed to be a leader, she was 13 years old making her the oldest among her group. The youngest of them was Annabeth, who was about 10.

She hated running. Her feet were starting to get swollen from how long they have run.

She hated being looked down upon.

Which was most likely what Zeus was doing, looking down at her at this instance.

Her thoughts were broken by an incredibly unsettling noise.

_stomp_

_Stomp_

_**Stomp**_

_**STOMP!**_

The cyclops was only getting closer. This fact was very much prominent in the heads of the children. None of them wished to address it in this dire moment.

Tears started to form in Thalia's blue thundering eyes.

She couldn't let her friends die because of her. Because of something she couldn't control.

Without warning, she turned a sharp right further into the forest and away from her friends. This caused two things to consequently happen.

The cyclops was no longer attacking the group but instead one demigod that is all by herself.

The now trio group of young children's eyes collectively widened in shock. It took short moments to realize that their friend had just sacrificed herself.

Thalia ran and ran. She knew she had to face this monster soon.

But not now, she had to get it farther away from the group.

So, they can't hear her cries.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Soon, Thalia ran and ran until she was far away from anyone or anything.

She slowed down and took a deep breath to prepare herself mentally for her demise.

She turned around to face the giant one-eyed monster who was grinning ear to ear.

Thalia pulled out a long knife and gotten into a fighting stance.

She may not have a lot of training, but she could still take on a hellhound or two.

She may not win this fight, she would be damned if she were to go down without a fight.

She felt her legs jolt toward the one-eyed giant who raised its left hand toward the charging little demigod and attempted to grab her. But before the giant could grab the girl she rolled under its grip and cut the one-eyed giant's wrist along the vein.

But before Thalia could react, the giant kicked the girl causing her to be flying into a pine tree.

Thalia tried to get back up but could barely move without feeling every bone and nerve bend and tear.

She started to whimper as she looked up to the giant who slowly approached her.

"You're a brave one," The cyclops' voice boomed, "I'll give you that. It'll be quick."

The cyclops raised its fist blocking the moon causing a shadow to illuminate onto Thalia as she closed her eyes.

Those last words rang through her head.

_It'll be quick_

Suddenly, the cyclops gasped as it turned around frantically looking around. Thalia opened her eyes to see what was occurring.

The cyclops faced conveyed a mixture of pleasure and excitement.

"Two demigods in one night?" The cyclops asked itself rhetorically, "I should go out more often!"

After the cyclops finished its a comment, a sword suddenly emerged and shined under the moon's light. The light illuminated what was around it. It revealed a boy with raven-like hair, standing in front of the cyclops and holding the sword that shined so vibrantly.

The light also reflected in his sea-green eyes that beamed in the dark.

Thalia was surprised, she didn't expect anyone to even stand up to such an intimidating creature. Only selfless idiots would do that, which is what she was.

"Looks like we have another fighter," The cyclops commented.

The cyclops attempted to grab the boy, but he was able to adjust the sword to reflect the moon's light into the cyclops' eye temporarily blinding it.

The boy wasted no time and ran past the cyclops' arm making varying sizes of deep cuts vertically. He continued to run underneath and through the one-eyed giant's legs getting behind the cyclops. He raised the sword and swung, cutting the heel of the left foot of the monster.

The cyclops groaned in pain as it tried to stomp on the boy with its right foot. But groaned even more after putting more pressure on its cut left foot as a result of raising its right foot.

The boy ran to the cyclops' right foot and did the same thing that he did to the left foot to the right.

After both heels were deeply cut, the cyclops fell on its knees causing the ground to shake.

Thalia was amazed at the speed of the boy. She never saw anyone move so fast and strong.

The cyclops wasn't done trying to kill that little brat, yet. It raised its uncut hand to grab the boy.

The boy's sea-green eyes saw it coming to a lightyear away and managed to evade it effortlessly. He quickly reacted by slicing it's pinky clean off its hand.

This only angered the monster even more.

Suddenly, the shining blade disappeared concealing the boy in the dark. The cyclops looked around angrily shouting, "C'me out! I'll kill ya!"

Suddenly, a shining beam shined from above catching both the attention of Thalia and monster.

The light came from the boy on a high tree branch holding the grand sword that illuminated so brightly.

But once the one-eyed giant laid its eye on the boy, the sword was sent flying toward its eye piercing and blinding the giant.

"You little mutt!" The giant cried as it reached toward the sword that was in its eye. It then threw the weapon far away in an act of anger and attempt to get rid of the chance of the boy getting his weapon back.

Thalia was worried and scared. The cyclops may be heavily injured, it would still be near impossible for any demigod to kill a cyclops without any weapons.

"That was a mistake," The boy stated as the identical sword reemerged in his hands. The sword made a sharp ringing noise that caused the giant to cower.

"No! That's not possible!" It cried, "Stay away from me!"

The cyclops was actually cowering in fear. It was flailing around.

The boy launched himself off of the tree branch toward the one-eyed creature.

And within a blink of an eye, the head of the cyclops was severed from its body.

The boy landed on both feet in front of Thalia, who finally could get a good look at him.

"Hey, you ok?" The boy asked.

"No," Thalia grunted as her whole entire body relaxed a little bit.

The boy knelt down to observe the injured girl's condition, his sword disappearing in the process.

Thalia stared into his sea-green eyes and noticed how defined his face was. Strands of his messy black hair hung in front of his forehead.

He reached out his hand to feel Thalia's forehead to see if she was ok.

"What are you doing?" Thalia asked.

"I'm trying to see if you have a fever," The boy answered, "Your face is pretty red."

Thalia's eyes widened as she realized how warm her cheeks were.

"Um," The short-haired girl was speechless. What was she supposed to say?

"Hm," The boy hummed thoughtfully. "It may be because you almost got a one-way ticket to meet Hades."

Thalia chuckled at the boy's dumb joke but soon regretted it when she felt her body convulse in pain.

"Whoa, easy there," The boy warned, "We should get you to camp."

The boy then started to wrap his arms around the girl's waist and threw her over his shoulder.

"Hey! What do you think you're doin'!" Thalia screamed, "Just because you saved me doesn't mean you could have se-"

"Oh, I'm just carrying you," The boy deadpanned, "I don't think you can walk by yourself so I am just making things easier for you. Would you like to try and walk by yourself?"

"Well…" Thalia felt her ears heat up. "It would be nice to know your name first."

"It's Percy," The boy had a warm smile that glowed, "Percy Jackson."

"I'm Thalia Grace," The girl introduced herself.

"Thalia," Percy repeated, "That's really pretty."

"What is?"

"Your name. It has a nice ring to it."

"Thanks." Thalia actually felt the comment was genuine and not an attempt to flatter her.

She stared into the boy's face. Despite being in a forest with a monster around every corner, he still wears a smile. His eyes attracted the girl's attention.

And soon she started to feel very drowsy.

And soon she was fast asleep in Percy's care.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"I can't believe we left her!" Annabeth screamed.

Luke was speechless and very shaken up.

Grover was also speechless and had his head in his hands.

Annabeth couldn't believe it. She shouldn't have kept running. She should've joined her friend in her last moments.

"We couldn't do anything," Luke almost whispered.

"Bullshit!" Annabeth spat.

"Children."

The three kids looked over to the voice to see a tall man with a lower half of a horse.

They all instantly recognized who it was.

Chiron.

The trainer of heroes.

"Grover, where is Thalia?" Chiron asked the satyr.

Grover eyes widened and stared at the ground.

Chiron instantly knew what Grover was inferring.

Chiron put his hand on Grover's back.

"You know what this means, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," Grover sighed.

But before Chiron could speak, someone else intervened.

"He is one step closer to being a searcher."

The four looked up to see Percy Jackson holding Thalia Grace, who was fast asleep on his shoulder.

"Percy!" Grover rose up to his hooves.

Chiron smirked warmly as he watched the raven-haired boy make his way up to them.

"Thalia!" Annabeth exclaimed as she ran up to the boy. "Is she?"

"She has some internal bleeding and bruising," Percy assured, "But she'll be fine with enough treatment."

"Thank you so much," Annabeth said as she wrapped her arms the boy who carried her friend.

"Uh, maybe you should say your thanks after I take care of your friend," Percy said awkwardly.

Annabeth quickly released the boy who chuckled at the girl's behavior. Annabeth was almost tempted to get her Yankees cap and put it on to disappear from this embarrassing situation.

"Percy!" Chiron smiled, "I think you should take her to the infirmary wing. I am giving you the task to help her recover."

"Alrighty then!" Percy smiled and turned to Annabeth, "Well, see ya later, umm…"

"I'm Annabeth, daughter of Athena."

"Well, I'm Percy Jackson, son of…a god."

That answer left Annabeth and Luke confused while Chiron and Grover chuckled at his answer.

And with that, Percy carried Thalia to the infirmary.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Green eyes.

Eyes that reflected the sea.

That's all Thalia could think of at the moment.

She wasn't thinking of where she was.

She wasn't thinking of how she almost just died.

She was thinking of a boy.

What a surprise, a teenage girl thinking of a cute boy.

Shocking.

His name was Percy.

She already forgot his last name. Was it Johnson? Was it Jameson? Or maybe it was Jackson?

That sounds right.

Percy Jackson.

_"Wonder how long sleeping beauty will lay,"_ A voice said waking Thalia up from her trance.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Percy sitting on her bed.

"Well, look who's awake," The boy smiled.

"Hey," Thalia groaned as she still felt how sour body still was. "Where am I?"

"Well," Percy clicked his tongue, "You're at Camp Half-Blood. More specifically, the Infirmary Wing."

"We made it?" Thalia asked stunned.

Percy simply smiled.

"How long have I been out?"

"For about 2 days."

"Where's Luke?"

"Training."

"Huh, should've guessed. Where's Annabeth?"

"Currently, reading I think? She has been doing a lot of things lately."

There was a sudden warm silence that fell over the two.

"So, sleeping beauty huh?" Thalia smirked, breaking the silence.

Percy smirked back. "I thought it was an appropriate nickname."

"Oh, did you?" Thalia still wore her smirk.

"Unless, you prefer sparky? Daughter of Zeus."

Thalia was shocked. "What? How did you know already?"

"Well, Annabeth filled me in about you," Percy's smirk turned into a smile. "She was really happy to know that you're alive."

"That's good," Thalia smirk also turned into a smile. "How much did she tell you?"

"Well," Percy said in a contemplative manner, "What do you think of Green Day?"

"THEY KICK ASS!" Thalia exclaimed but quickly groaned in pain. Percy chuckled as he grabbed a cup that was on a table next to Thalia's bed.

"Try this," Percy passed her the cup. The liquid in the cup had a texture that looked like it was apple cider that was diluted by water. It was kept cool by a handful of ice cubes.

She put the cups to her lips and widened her eyes in shock when the liquid made contact with her tongue.

"What do you taste?" Percy asked genuinely curious.

…

…

…

"I tasted the best hamburger ever made," Thalia said shocked.

Percy started laughing. Tears were threatening to leak from his eyes.

"That's new," Percy gasped in between laughs.

"What's so funny?" Thalia asked.

"It's just that when people try that drink they would say something like cookies or candy," Percy explained, "They usually don't taste something so savory."

Percy's cheeks started to turn red. "Now that I think about it, it wasn't that funny."

Thalia started to quietly giggle at the raven-haired boy.

"That is pretty funny," Thalia smiled. "So, do you like Green Day?"

"Yeah, they're pretty cool," Percy said, "I really like their new album."

"American Idiot?" Thalia said, "You heard it already?"

"Yeah, it's pretty great," Percy said, "I have it on cassette. Do you want me to loan it to you?"

"Really?!" Thalia exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah, it's no big deal," Percy assured.

Suddenly, a conch horn was heard in the distance.

Many who were in the infirmary with the two started to get up and leave.

But Percy stayed by Thalia's side.

"Don't you have to go?"

"Eh, dinner could wait."

"It's fine. I could take care of myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"Nah, I'll just stay," Percy resolved, "And besides you're pretty much recovered by now."

Thalia raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean by th-"

But before Thalia could finish her sentence, Percy grabbed her hand and raised her up to her feet. She was about do two things. First, slap the crap out of Percy. Second, collapse in pain. Not in that specific order.

But when Percy pulled her up she didn't feel sour whatsoever. She actually felt like she could run around the world twice over.

"What the?"

"Looks like the nectar worked its miracle," Percy smiled.

"Wait, was there nectar in my drink?"

"Just a little bit," Percy explained, "You were pretty much recovered by the time you woke up all you needed was just a little kick."

"Oh. Well thanks," Thalia said.

"No problem. But you can stop."

"Stop what?"

"You can stop holding my hand."

Thalia looked down to see, in fact, that she was still clasping onto Percy's hand. She quickly yanked her hand away and did her best to cool down to stop feeling so hot in her ears.

Then without warning…

_**SLAP!**_

"Oww! What the heck?" Percy complained as he rubbed his now red cheeks.

"That's what you get for teasing me!" Thalia said shocked that she went through with slapping the handsome boy.

"Teasing you?" Percy tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Just SHUT UP!" Thalia cried embarrassed.

"Can we just calm dow-"

"That's it! I'm leaving!" Thalia said abruptly, trying to get out of this situation.

The black-haired girl started to walk out of the infirmary.

"Do you know where you're going?" Percy asked.

Thalia stopped and turned around with her cheeks burning.

"Yeah," Thalia whispered.

"But, actually no," Percy chuckled, "You don't know where you are. Let me show you around. We have some time before dinner starts."

* * *

**A/N: So… yeah I did it. I am currently rereading all Percy Jackson books (Just the first series). I am trying to get this story as accurate to the source material as possible while still having my ideas. **

**I decided to make Annabeth and Percy much older in the story. I am also making it so when Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke arrives, it is 2005ish. This is just easier for me to write about and also gives me a solid reference point to the setting. **

**As you can tell, Percy is different. It will be explained in the next chapter (at least inferred). I have plenty of plans for this fanfic and I hope to see it through. **

**But don't expect anymore new stories from me anytime soon.**

**Edit: I changed Thalia's age by one year for plot reasons. **


	2. Chapter 2: Lake Sprinkle Sprankle

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or source material. All rights go to Rick Riordan and their appropriate artists. **

* * *

**Chapter 2: Lake Sprinkle Sprankle**

* * *

Annabeth couldn't believe how great Camp Half-Blood was. It was perfect.

The only way for this to be more perfect if Thalia were with her. But she was still recovering.

Either way, this place was pretty awesome.

Percy was currently giving her a quick tour of the campgrounds.

He introduced the stables, the lake, the arena's, and her cabin.

Cabin 6.

It was filled with other kids who were like her. Descendants from Athena.

Percy continued to introduce her to various aspects of the camp. But he kept skipping around one monument.

A fountain that reached high toward the sky and was deeply rooted in the ground. It flowed effortlessly with water. It was a grand monument that especially caught Annabeth's grey-eyes.

"And that's about it!" Percy smiled, "Any questions?"

"Um yeah actually," Annabeth said, "Why is there a fountain in the middle of camp?"

Percy's cheery attitude turned into an expression that was considerably grimmer.

"That fountain, is what protects the camp from all monsters and outsiders," Percy explained, "It creates a forcefield around the camp allowing only people with god's blood running in their veins."

"Is there any meaning behind it?" Annabeth asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what does it represent. You don't just build a monument like that for nothing."

"It's a long story."

"I could hear it."

"It's kind of sad."

"I could take it."

Percy sighed at Annabeth's persistence.

"Well, five years ago, there was a seven-year-old boy and his mother. They traveled all over the country to find a way to live a normal life. But when the mother realized it was impossible, they traveled to Camp Half-Blood," Percy looked over to see Annabeth incredibly invested in the story, "They might've lived a normal life. But the child was a mistake."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

"He was a product of a broken oath."

"You don't mean?"

Percy nodded. "The kid was the child of Poseidon. Poseidon fell in love with a young lady who also fell in love with him. And soon, the child was brought into a dangerous world. This only got Poseidon more invested in their lives. He didn't want the child to be a hero. He wanted him to live a life of peace. But the monsters that stood in the boy's way said otherwise," Percy explained, "Poseidon consistently saw both of them in secrecy. But that still wasn't enough."

Percy sighed. "I'm not boring you am I? You've been really quiet," Percy asked.

"No! Keep going!" Annabeth urged.

"Where was I?" Percy asked himself. He then snapped his fingers and realized where the story left off. "It got worse when Zeus and Hades found out. Hades sent monsters for the boy. Zeus promised to strike him out of the sky. They decided it was best if the boy was located here."

Percy paused.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth asked.

"Yeah! It's just that I still remember when it happened," Percy assured.

"When what happened?"

"When the boy and his mother came to camp. I think he was about seven when he attempted to come. They were so close too."

"What happened?"

"I'm getting there," Percy assured, "The mother and boy were being followed. By one of Hades' monsters. The Minotaur."

Annabeth's mind raced to visualize the Minotaur towering over the boy and his mother. He was displayed in all of his terrifying glory.

"It didn't hesitate to demolish and crush everything in its way. The mother was easily crushed by it."

Annabeth's mind once again visualized the story. She saw the mother being taken away from the boy forever. She could feel, hear, and see the grief of the boy.

"But the boy. He was resilient like most demigods. He didn't hesitate to angrily charge at the monster. Of course, that was a mistake. The Minotaur didn't hesitate to pierce the boy's heart with its horn."

An image of a young boy being stabbed in the heart flooded Annabeth's head. His cries and blood oozing throughout her head.

"But the Minotaur inadvertently gave him a weapon. The boy broke the horn off and with his dying breath, killed the Minotaur."

She pictured the boy simply stabbing the Minotaur. She was sure he did something else but there were so many limitations to the mind.

"Poseidon was outraged. The sea turned red in rage and the waves beat down everything on their paths. But Zeus and Hades were willing to compromise. So this monument was their compromise," Percy walked up to the fountain and guided his hands in the water. "This was to truly ensure that any demigod who were to set foot on this land were safe."

_**Sniff **_

Percy looked over to see a red-faced Annabeth struggling to hold her tears.

"Told you it was sad."

"Shut up," Annabeth mumbled as she desperately tried to dry her constant stream of tears.

"It's okay to cry."

"No, it's not," Annabeth countered, "It's a sign of weakness."

"Well, any emotion could be a weakness," Percy sighed, "It forces us to act in the heat of the moment. It's not bad nor good. It entirely depends on what we do with it is what defines it as a weakness or strength."

"I-I never t-thought of it like that," Annabeth sniffled, now recovering from her sadness.

Percy started laughing causing Annabeth to ask what was so funny.

"Who knew that the daughter of the god of wisdom and knowledge needed some wisdom?" Percy laughed.

"Shut up!" Annabeth cried embarrassed, "Who knew that! You…You…dumb son of… "

There was a moment of Annabeth humming contemplatively.

"Who is your god relation?" Annabeth asked.

"I don't know," Percy shrugged.

"What?"

"I was never claimed."

"Wait! How long have you been at this camp for?"

"Well..." Percy stopped to think, "I arrived here when I was seven…and now I'm twelve… So I guess it's been five years."

"How have you not been claimed yet?" Annabeth asked stunned.

"I just haven't been claimed," Percy reasoned.

"How long does it usually take for someone to get claimed?"

"Usually a month or two," Percy answered, "But I'm a special case."

Annabeth looked at Percy in a peculiar manner.

'There is no way that this kid is unclaimed,' Annabeth thought, 'Why isn't he angrier? Why is he so accepting of this?'

"Perseus, Annabeth," A voice called out smoothly. The duo looked toward it to see Chiron approaching them. "I am pleased to see that you're helping Annabeth adjust, Percy."

"It's no biggie," Percy smiled.

Chiron chuckled. "I see. But I think that you should check on young Thalia. She should be waking up soon."

"I'm on it," Percy then jogged off to the infirmary, "See ya later Wise girl!"

_Wise girl?_

Annabeth liked it. She continued to watch him runoff. He still had a smile on his face. For some reason, the smile charmed Annabeth. She definitely wouldn't mind if Percy's god relation was Athena.

"So, I trust he did a satisfactory job educating you on the campgrounds?" Chiron asked breaking the daughter of Athena's chain of thought.

"Oh! He was really nice. He did a good job showing me around," Annabeth said.

"I see that you take a liking to him," Chiron chuckled.

"What! I mean, of course, I like him! But as a friend!" Annabeth's cheeks wore a vibrant red hue.

Chiron started chuckling even more.

"So, is it true that Percy really hasn't been claimed?" Annabeth asked.

Chiron sighed. "Yes it is true," Chiron said.

Chiron's response caused Annabeth to contemplate about Percy even more.

"Perseus is a very interesting boy who has gone through a lot to get here," Chiron added.

"What happened?" Annabeth asked.

"That's up to Perseus to tell the tale," Chiron sighed, "But he may have already told you."

"Tell me what?" Annabeth asked once more.

Chiron then laughed. "You'll see," Chiron simply said.

Before Annabeth could ask any more questions, a conch horn was heard.

"Oh, it's dinner time," Chiron stated, "I'm pretty sure we're having barbeque tonight."

Chiron walked off leaving Annabeth by herself to contemplate.

She contemplated and repeated Chiron's words to herself.

_He may already have told you_

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"So this is my cabin?"

"Yup," Percy responded.

Thalia just recovered from the infirmary and Percy was currently showing her around.

She really liked Percy. He seems really cool and chill. And he likes Green Day. Anyone who likes Green Day is pretty damn cool in Thalia's book.

"You're not just going to stand there are you Sparky?" Percy teased, "It's your cabin."

"Someday, I'll find a nickname for you," Thalia smirked.

She entered Cabin 1 and observed how dusty everything was. This was most likely from no one occupying or living in the cabin for a long time. There hasn't been a descendent from the Big Three in almost a century.

"What are the rules for decorating the cabin?" Thalia asked.

"Do whatever you want," Percy informed, "Just make sure that the decorations are okay by camp standards."

"Ok, cool," Thalia smiled, "This place looks so sad. I want to lighten it up a bit."

"Don't blame ya," Percy agreed, "But you should do that after dinner because we're pretty late."

"What? I thought you said that we had time," Thalia said lightly annoyed.

"Sorry. That was a white lie," Percy scratched the back of his neck.

"How is that a white lie?" Thalia sighed.

"Well, no one was hurt right?" Percy reasoned.

Thalia chuckled. "Well, let's haul ass."

"Race you there."

"Oh. You're on."

Both of them took off running toward the dining area. Percy was beating Thalia by a good amount.

Soon both arrived barely on time. Thalia was winded while Percy was still energetic.

"How. The. Hell. Are. You. Still. Like. That." Thalia took a breath after every word. She was extremely winded.

"Like what?" Percy smiled.

"You're way too energetic. It's really discouraging," Thalia said breathlessly.

"Hey. You did a great job keeping up! You could honestly beat me if you tried," Percy encouraged.

"Shut up."

"THALIA!"

The two looked over to see a certain blond-haired girl run over toward them.

"Annabeth!" Thalia exclaimed.

Annabeth wasted no time hugging Thalia, squeezing the life out of her.

"Annabeth," Thalia wheezed.

"Oh sorry!" Annabeth quickly apologized and let go of Thalia. "You recovered!"

"Yeah, thanks to Percy," Thalia then pulled Percy into their conversation.

"Hi," Percy waved. Percy then stared at his wristwatch. "Oh, gotta go. The Hermes cabin should be arriving at their table soon."

And with that, Percy ran off. Thalia and Annabeth watched the boy run.

"So, his father's Hermes?" Thalia asked, "That helps with coming up with his nickname."

"Well, not really," Annabeth explained, "He's unclaimed."

"Really? For how long?"

"For five years."

"What! That's crazy!" Thalia nearly shouted.

"Yeah. But, it's still weird," Annabeth stated.

"What? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. It's just me being interested in a cute boy."

Annabeth's eyes widened.

"Cute, huh?" Thalia raised her eyebrows in a teasing manner.

"Wha-"

"Campers! Settle down and head to your appropriate tables!" Chiron announced to everyone.

"Well, see ya later Annabeth," Thalia smiled mischievously.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Percy sighed as he offered his largest and juiciest slice of brisket to the god that conceived him. He thanked his godly father and walked back to his table.

He reflected on the turn of events of today.

Annabeth seems to be really smart and curious as expected of a child of Athena. She really wants to know everything in this world. She's also pretty beautiful.

Then there's Thalia. She is a whole lot of fun to be around. She just goes with the flow and isn't afraid to speak her mind. She is also beautiful but in a much different manner than Annabeth. He can't quite put his finger on it. She is definitely pretty but in a way that definitely expressed herself.

Percy has also been watching over Luke. He seems like a really nice kid. His swordsmanship skills are very good. He could easily get better at an exponential rate.

He continued to walk back to the Hermes cabin table. On the way, he saw Thalia by herself, sitting at a grand empty table, poking at her food.

'She looks bored,' Percy thought to himself.

He sighed once more and walked over to Thalia's table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Percy asked.

Thalia looked up. "I mean I would say yes, but I don't think that the _grand _god of gods would appreciate it," Thalia smiled.

"'I'll just take that as a yes," Percy smiled back as he took a seat next to Thalia, whose eyes widened.

"P-Percy! You'll probably get struck by lightning!" Thalia warned.

"Ok."

…

…

…

"I don't think your father minds very much," Percy deadpanned.

"I still don't think you should do this," Thalia suggested.

"There isn't a rule against demigods sitting with other demigods is there?"

"I don't know! I've only been here for a day!"

"Technically, 3 days if we include your recovery."

"Whatever, you shouldn't do this."

"I think I'll be fine," Percy stated as he started eating his food.

"I am getting sick of repeating myself," Thalia said annoyed.

"Then don't," Percy said, stuffing his mouth.

"You're so dense," Thalia sighed.

"Thank you."

Thalia laughed. "That wasn't a compliment."

"You know, I haven't gotten a single compliment from you," Percy started smiling.

"Well, why do you think you deserve a compliment if you never complimented me?" Thalia said smiling as well.

"Ok. Your eyes are beautiful."

"Wait. Wha-"

"I really like your hair. It compliments you perfectly."

"Hold it."

"You have pretty good taste in music."

"I mean I just listen to Green Day."

"Either way, I am glad we're friends."

"Do you mean that?" Thalia asked stunned.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I mean it?" Percy said as if it was obvious.

"Thanks," Thalia felt her ears get a little warm and couldn't help but wear a grand smile.

"So what's your favorite Green Day song then?"

"What?"

"You like Green Day right?"

Thalia nodded.

"So what's your favorite Green day song?"

Thalia smiled even wider. "Well…"

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"I'm sorry," Thalia sighed in a frustrating manner, "But what the Hades is wrong with you?"

"What? Warning is my favorite album from them!" Percy protested.

"But it doesn't even sound like Green Day! It was so weird!" Thalia claimed.

"I mean they were always weird," Percy reasoned.

"That is true but Warning! Seriously? I could understand if your favorite album from them was Dookie or Insomniac. I don't think any sane person would pick Warning," Thalia argued.

"It isn't bad!"

"It isn't but it isn't Green Day!"

"I mean Nimrod was different and didn't sound like previous Green Day songs."

"That doesn't count!"

"What in the name of Hades! What do you mean it doesn't count!"

The two have been bantering about the punk-rock band for most of the dinner. Many from other tables listened to their conversation and actually started conversing about the validity of their points.

But no one was more invested in their talk then a certain blond-haired daughter of Athena. Annabeth wasn't interested in what the conversation was about but how it was affecting the duo's relationship.

Thalia seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself talking and arguing about her favorite band. Percy's expression seemed to mirror Thalia's.

It seemed that Percy's interest was more invested in Thalia.

For some reason, Annabeth felt a tinge of jealousy to arise within her. It was really conflicting. She didn't want to make any assumptions about their relationship but she didn't want to fill in any blank spaces in the puzzle.

She needed more information. She can't assume anything.

Wait, why the heck was she even jealous of?

"Warning has Waiting!"

"Dookie has Longview!"

"You do know that Longview is about masturbation right?"

"No, it isn't."

"Yeah, it is."

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Gods! You pick everything apart about them. It's almost like Green Day isn't your favorite band," Thalia said in a frustrating manner.

…

…

…

"Percy?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Green Day **is **your favorite band right?" Thalia narrowed her eyes dramatically.

Percy started to sweat. "Well, music is subjective, so the only opinion that matters is your ow-"

"Percy. Look at me," Thalia growled. "Is Green Day your favorite band?"

"Oh! Why look at the time!" Percy exclaimed while looking at his wristwatch, "I should start heading back to the cabin to get some shut-eye."

"Oh, don't try to weasel your way out of this," Thalia sneered.

And like that Percy took off running. Thalia following closely behind.

"Wow, they're so cute together!" Someone from the Aphrodite cabin said.

"I know right! What should their ship name be?" Someone else from the same cabin asked.

"How about Perlia!"

"No, that's too dumb."

"Hm. If only we knew Percy's god relation!"

Annabeth heard enough. She stood up from her table causing many cabin mates to look up at her in a questioning manner.

She walked away from the tables.

She needed to clear her head.

She walked beside the lake and stared at how the moon touched the horizon and sparkled in the water.

'I don't like Percy like that! I like him as a friend,' Annabeth assured internally, 'It's fine if Thalia is with Percy! I will not care if Thalia and Percy grow old together having a grand family!'

Whoa.

She was surprised at how specific her thoughts were.

'Ok. Maybe I like him a little bit,' Annabeth reasoned, 'It's probably infatuation! It'll go away the more I hang out with him'

"Say it!" A loud girl's voice was heard.

"What do you want me to say!" A familiar boy's voice was heard alongside the girl's.

Annabeth sighed as she realized who the two were. She should just walk away.

Or she could eavesdrop on them.

She chose the latter.

She put on her Yankees cap and disappeared instantly.

She slowly approached the two voices and saw Thalia and Percy on the dock talking.

"Just say the truth! That Green Day isn't your favorite band!" Thalia said.

Percy sighed. "Fine. Green Day isn't my favorite band."

"I knew it," Thalia suddenly got really dramatic. A fake tear came down from her blue-eyes. "I never thought this day would come so fast! I never thought that my friend, Perseus Jackson, would betray me!"

There was a silence that came over the two of them.

Suddenly, they both started laughing like hyenas when they see their prey.

"That. Was so dumb!" Percy wheezed from laughing.

"But that was so good!" Thalia started to cry from laughter.

"Holy crap! The cherry on top was the fake tear!"

"Who said it was fake?" Thalia laughed even harder, "And besides it's in my genes!"

"What do you mean by that?" Percy asked calming down.

"Well, first off my mom's an actress," Thalia answered now calming down also.

"Really, who is she?"

"Beryl Grace."

"Wait, are you serious? _THAT _Beryl Grace_._"

Thalia nodded "_THAT _Beryl Grace. Zeus came down to see just her," Thalia explained. "And well, they had me."

"Whoa. That's pretty…"

"Shitty."

"What why?" Percy asked.

"My dad made my mother all crazy," Thalia explained her voice getting shaky, "And things only got worse after he left her and she had my younger brother."

"You have a younger brother? What happened?" Percy asked but quickly regretted it, "Wait. You don't need to answer that."

And so she didn't. And another wave of silence rolled over the two.

"So who's your favorite band then?" Thalia asked trying to change the topic.

"Oh. You probably never heard of them."

"Try me."

"Well, they're a band from Britain. They're called Muse."

"Who are they?"

Percy started chuckling.

"Hey! I didn't say I will know them did I?" Thalia said while punching Percy's shoulder.

"I'll give you one of their albums when I give you the American Idiot cassette," Percy smiled.

"Well, it better be good," Thalia said sternly.

"Like I said. Music is subjective," Percy stated once more.

"Yeah, you and your 'music is subjective' and all that jazz," Thalia said in a mocking manner.

"I guess you don't want the cassette then,"

"Oh, you better give me it or I'll destroy you," Thalia threatened.

Percy started chuckling. "Before I change my mind maybe I should just give it to you now," Percy smiled.

"You better get going!"

"Alrighty then, I'll go get it. Stay here," Percy then ran off leaving Thalia smiling.

When Percy was far away, Thalia sighed. "Annabeth, you can come out now."

Annabeth was shocked. How did she know?

"If you're wondering how I knew, I could hear your mumbling while I talked to Percy," Thalia explained.

Damnit. Annabeth really hated her ADHD.

Annabeth sighed as she took off her cap.

"So what's up?" Thalia asked.

"Nothing much," Annabeth responded.

"You sure? Because by the way, you were stalking us, I'm a bit suspicious," Thalia raised an eyebrow.

"Ok fine. I was eavesdropping," Annabeth confessed.

"Why?"

"I don't know," Annabeth kicked the dirt on the ground out of nervousness and embarrassment. She was telling the truth. To her, it was just an instinct to follow her friends and listen to them.

Thalia saw this painted all over Annabeth's face. "Fine. You're off the hook for now," Thalia sighed, "If you want to hang out with us you could just join. You don't need to be some sort of stalker or creep about it."

"Really?" Annabeth said happily.

"Of course. You're like a sister to me," Thalia assured.

"Thanks," Annabeth said.

"And I'm back!" Percy came running with two cassettes in hand and a cassette player. He then saw Annabeth. "Oh hey, Annabeth!"

Annabeth blushed at the attention. "H-Hey Percy!"

Thalia saw the way Annabeth reacted. She shrugged it off and simply dismissed it as Annabeth being unused to having other friends besides Thalia or Luke.

"You got the goods?" Thalia smirked.

"Yup!" Percy handed her the cassettes and a Walkman "You could use my Walkman for now."

"Wow, really thanks," Thalia looked at the Walkman, which had stickers placed all over it. She then examined the cassettes, American Idiot by Green Day and Origins of Symmetry by Muse. She held up the Muse album. "What's this?"

"It's Muse's sophomore album," Percy smiled, "I think you'll like it."

"Well, I'll listen to it tonight," Thalia promised as she put the cassettes and Walkman in her jean pocket.

A conch horn was blown once more.

"Welp, we gotta go back to our cabins," Percy said as he started to walk away, "See you guys later."

"Percy wait," Thalia called out causing the green-eyed boy to turn around.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for helping me."

Percy smiled and said that it wasn't a big deal and continued to walk back to Cabin 11.

"I should probably go too," Annabeth said, "My cabin leaders are pretty strict for call time."

"Oh okay," Thalia watched her two friends go back to their respective cabins.

And then there was one.

Thalia sighed as she started to go to Cabin 1.

As she walked, she fished the Muse cassette and Walkman out of her pocket and contemplated on whether or not she should listen to it now.

"Eh, why not," Thalia reasoned, "With a band name like 'Muse' I expect them to be somewhat chill."

And so she pressed play on the Walkman and continued her way back to her cabin.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Percy never liked to sleep so early.

But thankfully no one actually enforced punishment for staying up too late.

So currently he was sitting by the dock drinking a cold can of Pepsi.

"Yo! Sup' Perce!"

Percy turned around and saw his satyr friend, Grover.

"Hey, Grover how's it hangin'?" Percy asked.

"Oh y'know me," Grover said as he took a seat next to his friend, "Just being a satyr and all."

"Nice," Percy smiled, "What do you get for me this time?"

Grover smiled back as he got out a bag of cassettes.

"Nice," Percy repeated once more as he looked at the cassettes he just got. "Oh wow. You got a lot."

Percy started mentally listing all the bands and artists in the bag. He then saw larger than a usual cassette. He took it out and realized that it wasn't a cassette but another Walkman.

"Grover, how did you get all of this stuff?" Percy asked stunned.

"Well, let's just say that yours truly is one smooth talker," Grover smiled as he pointed both thumbs at himself.

Percy chuckled. "So how much?"

"Nothing. It's free."

"What?" Percy was stunned, "Why?"

"Consider this as a thank you," Grover explained, "Because of you being all heroic and saving Thalia, I am much much closer to becoming a searcher."

"Wait, are you serious?"

Grover simply nodded with a wide smile.

"How much closer?"

"Well, they don't really measure how close a satyr is to becoming a searcher they just decide whether or not they deserve becoming one," Grover explained.

"In other words?" Percy asked.

"I just need to get another demigod or two safely to camp," Grover answered.

"Holy crap!" Percy nearly shouted, "That's great news!"

"Yeah, it is," Grover commented, "So just take the stuff. You don't need to pay me."

"Grover, I still don't want to give you nothing for getting me these," Percy sighed.

"Just take it, dude," Grover urged.

"You sure you don't need anything?"

Grover sighed. "How about this? Just give me your can and we're all good."

"Deal."

Percy quickly finished the can of Pepsi and gave the aluminum shell to Grover who took a huge bite out of it.

"So, what do you think of Thalia and Annabeth," Grover inquired with a smile, "I saw you three getting it on!"

Percy laughed. "Dude, that's so wrong."

Grover started laughing as well. "What? I am just saying what I saw. You three looked like you guys had fun!"

"We did," Percy smiled, "But please work on your phrasing."

"Hm. How about no?"

Percy sighed with a smile.

"So, what do you think of them?" Grover asked once more.

"Well, Annabeth is really smart. She also is pretty nice."

"Are you saying that she's pretty or she's nice?"

"Both."

Grover started to 'oooh' obnoxiously. "Wow, my boy Perce, the lady's man!"

"Dude. C'mon."

"What! You two look cute together," Grover explained, "Some of the Aphrodite kids have been making ship names about you two. Something like Percabeth."

"Really?" Percy asked stunned, "Why do people just mix names and call it a ship name. That's pretty lazy."

"Well, that's how ship names work," Grover sighed, "But what's wrong with you two being a thing?"

"First of all, we are just friends. And second, she's two years younger than me," Percy stated, "That's a little weird."

"Oh c'mon! It isn't that big of a difference. At least you aren't 32 and she's 18! Now, that would be weird!" Grover said.

"Still," Percy sighed, "She's still younger than me. She probably still needs to get a hang of love like most people."

"Oh, now we're getting deep," Grover teased, "But in all seriousness, I get what you're saying. But I know you like her."

"I do," Percy sighed as he remembered that satyrs can read emotions. "But not like that."

Grover started chuckling as if Percy told a really bad joke. "But what about Perlia?"

"What the heck is a Perlia?"

"It's the ship name for you and Thalia."

"Let me guess, the Aphrodite Cabin named it?"

"Yup!" Grover made the 'p' sound of the word pop. "So what do you think of her?"

"You can read me. So why ask?" Percy asked.

"Because I want to make sure you're being honest with yourself," Grover answered.

"Well, she's super cool," Percy said, "She is also really funny."

"Wow!" Grover laughed.

"What?"

"It's a love triangle!"

"Shut up," Percy sighed, "Like I said, we're all just friends."

"What! C'mon! No matter how you look at it, it's a love triangle," Grover smiled, "At least it's not a love rectangle. Or a love pentagon."

"Grover, they're just friends," Percy sighed.

"For now," Grover raised his eyebrows up and down which was pretty weird to Percy. "I gotta go, dude. And good luck with that whole girl situation."

"Gee thanks," Percy rolled his eyes.

"Hey! Don't get sassy on me!" Grover smiled wider as he ran off leaving Percy by himself.

The sea-green eyed boy decided that he didn't want to freeze to death and go back to his cabin. He also didn't want to get eaten by the harpies.

He picked up the bag of cassettes and carried it back to his cabin.

"I wonder what mom would say," he asked himself quietly.

His mind then wandered off to his mother. Sally Jackson. The best human being who ever graced the earth. Sally Jackson died trying to help Percy get here.

When he arrived at Cabin 11, everyone was fast asleep. He tip-toed to his bed which was by a window that had a view of the lake.

He got into his bed and didn't even bother to change into his pajamas. He looked at his calendar.

**May 20, 2005**.

He looked under his bed to get out a case with a combo lock on it. He put in the combination into it.

**0\. 6. 20.**

It opened to reveal a minotaur horn. He slowly guided his fingers over the horn and could almost feel his blood as well as the minotaur's that stained it.

A small part of Percy told himself that he should've told Annabeth the truth. He should probably get over this mindset of staying unclaimed because he wants to keep people safe by being a nobody instead of being a hero and having a huge target on him and his friends back.

And as ridiculous as it sounds, he is struggling to not be a hero. It's like an involuntary muscle.

He sighed as he closed the case and locked it. He doesn't truly know why he keeps taking it out.

Maybe it's a reminder to keep his mindset to keep everyone safe. Maybe it's a reminder that he couldn't save his mother.

Either way he put the case away and would most likely open it once again later.

* * *

**A/N: So. I got this chapter done way faster than I originally planned. **

**So allow me to explain some questionable things in the chapter. **

**First, of the Band and music references. It might get a little annoying so I am planning to use it as little as possible. I do have a reason for it. The idea of using Green Day and Muse as Thalia and Percy's favorite bands is really convoluted so stick with me. The idea of Green Day and how I am going to use it is that it's a band that came from its parent band (The band that inspired Green Day), The Clash which will be incorporated into the story. Green Day represents Thalia and The Clash represents Zeus. The same is used for Percy. Muse represents Percy while Radiohead (The band that influenced Muse) represents Poseidon. **

**Also, I addressed the slight age gap between Annabeth (10) and Percy (12). It's a little awkward and weird if I didn't bring it up. I wanted to show that the characters were aware of such a thing. **

**And to answer Anonymously96, yes, Percy will be paired with both Annabeth and Thalia. I will add at least one or two more girls. But I will try my best to not go overboard. And I am planning for the prophecy kid to be Percy still. And The events of Lightning Thief will happen soon. I promise. Just wait for a chapter or two for things to kick off.**

**Anyways, that's all folks!**


	3. Chapter 3: Feeling Good

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or source material. All rights go to Rick Riordan and their appropriate artists. **

* * *

**Chapter 3: Feeling Good**

* * *

_"Mom!" _

_"Run!"_

_Annabeth didn't know where she was. She only knew that she was in a forest that looked eerily familiar. She was watching a child and his mother run. She watched from a distance and tried running toward the two but never getting an inch closer. _

_She didn't know what they were running from. That was until she heard rapid stomps accumulate from behind the two. Then a tall and big figure ran past Annabeth not acknowledging her. The figure ran with gusto and roared with so much might it could break glass with sheer power. The fur of the creature flowed as it ran. The hooves and horns defined it in the dark._

_It was the Minotaur. _

_Annabeth realized that she was dreaming of the past. _

_"Just keep running! We're almost there!" The mother encouraged with a shaking voice from how fast she was running and the pure stress being pushed on the two. _

_The Minotaur was catching up to the duo at an exponential rate. The mother saw this and continued running. _

_Annabeth wanted to cry out, _**_RUN! _**_Or _**_Don't stop! _**

_But nothing came out. _

_Soon, the monster grabbed the mother causing the boy to stop. _

_"Mom!" _

_The mother had tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't stop, Per-" _

_But before she could finish her sentence, the Minotaur squeezed causing the motherly woman to dissipate into golden dust._

_"Nooo!" _

_The boy didn't run away. He simply ran toward the danger that stood in front of him. The Minotaur then charged at the boy piercing his heart. _

_Annabeth's dreamscape was filled with the boy's screams and his blood painting the forest floor. _

_Just when the boy seemed like he was done for, the boy's sea-green eyes had a murderous rage behind them. _

_The boy broke the horn off of the Minotaur causing it to cry out in pain and crouch over its knee. The boy didn't waste any time in disorientating the beast as much as possible. The boy raised his fist and full-on sucker-punched the creature. _

_The Minotaur was taken aback as he backed away in shock. It then acted solely on animal instinct as it charged once more. The boy saw this and reached the horn sticking out of his chest and pulled. _

_And pulled. _

_And pulled._

_And finally, the horn was dislodged from the boy's chest leaving a deep hole. _

_Annabeth could've sworn that the floor was starting to flood with blood. She hated this. But she couldn't stop watching. _

_The boy held the horn with courage and charged at the charging minotaur. But suddenly the monster stopped as if it was frozen or some sort of force was preventing it from moving. It was evident that it was struggling against whatever made it stop._

_The boy continued his charge and impaled the monster where it stood. The Minotaur growled in pain one last time as it faded away. _

_The boy held the horn, that was now covered in his and the minotaur's blood. He then fell on his back obviously exhausted. He was bleeding out. It was only a matter of time before he would die._

_He closed his eyes and whispered one thing, "Father."_

Annabeth woke in a sweat. She was gasping and hyperventilating. She looked around in her cabin and saw that everyone was still in a deep sleep.

Annabeth Chase, like most demigods, have the weirdest dreams. They often dream of the future and weird surreal fever dreams. But she can say for certain that dream she just awoke from. But that dream was in the past. She saw how the boy and his mother died.

She couldn't help but cry softly for the two.

'It could've been Thalia,' She thought to herself.

If Percy wouldn't have came in and saved her, she would've been dead. Annabeth couldn't imagine a world without Thalia. She owed everything to Percy.

After calming down and stopping her tears, she began to wonder what the boy would've been like if he was still alive.

She may never know.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Thalia had quite a lot to think about last night. It was enlightening, to say the least. She couldn't stop thinking about Percy. She really enjoyed being with him. She also really liked the band that he recommended to her. They were called Muse or something like that. They were really good but nothing could come close to Green Day.

But anyway, she was trying to look for Percy. She knew that there was a slight possibility that he may still be in his cabin sleeping because of how early it still is. She could also get in trouble for not going to role-call for the cabins.

'Ah screw it, who the heck is gonna stop me? My cabin counselor?' Thalia humored herself, 'Oh wait! That's me.'

She continued to walk around the camp looking for the raven-haired boy. Until…

"C'mon Blackjack, you don't want to spend the day inside do you?" A familiar voice said from the stables. A horse neighed loudly. "Yeah, I know! I'll give you your sugar cubes."

Thalia smiled as she walked over to the stables. She opened the gate to it and looked around to see Percy nowhere to be seen.

"Percy?" Thalia called out. She got no response. She could see the horses shifting around like most animals do when they are put into such a small space. "Where are you?"

She kept on walking around until she saw something that really astonished her. It was a black pegasus. She always thought they came only in one color, which was white.

"Isn't he cool?" Percy appeared behind her which caused her to jump and sock him square in the face. Percy groaned as he rubbed his cheek. "Ow, what the heck, Thalia?"

"You shouldn't scare people like that," Thalia said as she rubbed her fists.

"Oh, sorry," Percy smiled as he scratched the back of his neck.

"You better be," Thalia smirked.

Percy chuckled as he walked past Thalia and toward the pegasus. "But anyway! Isn't he cool?"

"Who is _he_?" Thalia raised her eyebrows.

"The pegasus!" Percy responded, "His name's Blackjack. I rescued him after I found this guy tangled up in a net on the shore. I took care of him and now we're best buds!" Percy grinned as he guided his hands along with Blackjack's coat of fur.

"That's pretty cool," Thalia smiled as she approached Blackjack, who took a long look at Thalia then neighed causing her to jump back a little.

Percy laughed. "He likes you," Percy noted.

"How can you tell?" Thalia asked.

"I just could," Percy said. His sea-green eyes brightened as if he had a great idea. "Hey, want to go on a ride with me?"

"Um, what do you mean," Thalia asked unsure of what Percy is asking. But at the same time, she had a terrible feeling in her gut at what he was suggesting.

"I am asking if you want to ride Blackjack with me," Percy said, cheerfully. But he quickly realized that may have not been the best thing to say as he observed at how nervous Thalia looked. "Are you okay?"

"Um yeah, I'm fine," Thalia started to look down at her feet as if the answer was down there. "I don't like heights very much."

Percy then apologized for offering an experience she couldn't do.

"Stop apologizing," Thalia said as she punched Percy's shoulder playfully, "I could watch you as you fly."

"Oh, I never had an audience before," Percy noted jokingly.

"Well, you better put on a good show," Thalia said.

"I will," Percy said as he began to walk Blackjack outside who neighed, causing Percy to blush for some odd reason.

An even odder idea popped up in her head, which was that Percy can communicate with Blackjack. But that's a really far fetched theory. So far-fetched, it caused Thalia to chuckle a bit.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"Alright Blackjack," Percy whispered to the black pegasus as he mounted it, "You ready?"

_"Yup! I'm more than ready, boss!" _Blackjack said to Percy causing him to lightly sigh, which Blackjack noticed. _"Oh sorry, boss-I mean Percy."_

"Don't worry about it," Percy assured, "Let's just put on a good show."

Percy looked over to Thalia who was by the stables watching the raven-haired boy on his pegasus. He waved. She waved back.

_"Pigaíno!" _Percy called out in Greek. Which was a rough translation of Go! And with that, Percy was instantly carried into the sky.

He felt the air slide smoothly across his body as he couldn't help but smile as he felt his heart get faster.

Thalia couldn't believe how high he was going. If he were to fall he would land straight into the lake. But yet he still had that dumb grin on his face. She couldn't help but grin back.

Percy never got sick of this. He could do this for hours. He could honestly be mistaken for a son of Zeus. The best part was that the adrenaline didn't even kick in yet.

Percy spread out his arms wide open to catch as much air as possible as if he was going to lose it at any moment.

_"Hey, boss? Want to go to the clouds?"_ Blackjack asked.

"No, not today," Percy struggled to say from all the air embracing him forcefully, "It's time to go down."

_"Boss, are we really going to do_ **_that _**_again?" _Blackjack asked worrisomely.

"Why not? We did it before," Percy smiled with eagerness.

_"That's because I didn't go as high," _Blackjack reminded.

"I'll give you a bag of sugar cubes," Percy said.

_"It's going to take a lot more than to make me let you kill yourself."_

"Did I say a bag of sugar cubes? I meant I'll give you 20 sugar cubes if we do this."

Blackjack sighed. _"Fine." _

Percy smiled as he dismounted from Blackjack. He was almost touching the clouds at this point.

Thalia saw this and began to panic. "Holy shit! He's going to kill himself," Thalia said panicked.

"Oh, I see Percy is trying to show off again," A voice said behind her. She turned around and saw Chiron with a not very surprised face watching Percy fall.

"Are you going to do something?" Thalia asked not getting any calmer.

"He'll be fine," Chiron sighed, "Even if Blackjack doesn't catch him the water will."

"What the Hades! What the heck does that mean? The water will totally kill him on impact!" Thalia exclaimed as she frantically pointed at the free-falling boy.

"Who in the world is screaming at this time?" Another voice groaned behind Chiron.

"Ah, Mr. D so good of you to wake up," Chiron smiled as a man with a leopard pattern vest approached the two.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Mr. D then looked up to see Percy falling. "Oh is Peter-"

"Percy," Chiron corrected.

"Whatever, that kid's falling again?" Mr. D asked.

Chiron nodded.

"What are we going to do?!" Thalia asked.

"Nothin'," Mr. D commented leaving Thalia in awe.

"He's gonna die!"

"Hah, I wish."

"Oh, he's doing it right now," Chiron commented as Thalia and Mr. D looked over.

Percy continued to dive down headfirst. This was where his adrenaline kicked in. Percy maneuvered his body to make his feet falling first. He then spread them apart to leave room for something. Then, Blackjack dived down and spread his wings and zoomed under Percy picking him up in an instant.

_"WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOO!" _Percy hollered as Blackjack flew him smoothly to stables which where Thalia, Chiron, and Mr. D were. Chiron was clapping while Thalia was fuming. Mr. D was disappointed that a half-blood brat didn't bite the dust.

"Heck yeah! That was great!" Percy said with his much messier hair all over the place. "Great job, Blackjack!

_"Ah thanks, boss! I mean Percy! I mean boss! I mean-"_

"PERCY!" A certain daughter of Zeus screamed as she charged the unclaimed boy.

"Oh hey, Sparky," Percy smiled and failed to notice Blackjack backing away from Percy. "Did you enjoy the- OOF!" Thalia tackled Percy to the ground.

"What in the name of Hades! What were you thinking?" Thalia screamed as she pinned Percy down holding him by his collar. "You could've died!"

"You mean from the fall?"

"NO, from drinking dihydrogen monoxide," Thalia said in an aggressively sarcastic manner, "Yes! The freakin' fall!"

"Eh, been through worse," Percy shrugged.

"Shut up! I'm not letting my friend kill himself in such a dumb way!" Thalia growled as blue electricity surrounded her.

"Uh, Thalia?"

"And I'm definitely not letting you be such a damn show off!" More electricity surrounded her, shocking Percy a bit.

"T-Thalia?"

"Don't even get me started on your gods forsaken decision to even decide to pull that off in the first place!"

"THALIA!"

"WHAT!"

"You're sparking."

Thalia looked around herself to see indeed that she was _'sparking'. _She calmed herself down but still pinned Percy.

"Just, don't do that again," Thalia whispered.

"Ok, I'll try," Percy shrugged, "But can you get off me?"

"How about you make me?" Thalia smirked. But soon regretted her words when Percy got on his feet carrying Thalia startling her. "OK! OK! I'll get off you!"

And with that, Thalia got down from Percy's embrace, which she missed almost instantly.

"Oh my goodness," Mr. D groaned, "Could half-bloods be even more annoying?"

Thalia looked over in annoyance and leaned over to Percy. "Who's that grouch?" Thalia asked.

"Oh that's Mr. D, the person who pretty much runs the camp," Percy explained.

"I didn't see him here yesterday," Thalia commented.

"He doesn't really like to 'waste his time.' And he just introduced you when you were still recovering," Percy said, "But on normal days he doesn't really make his presence known. He's also the god of wine."

"What?" Thalia then thought for a moment. "Wait, that's Dionysus? What's he doing here?"

"I must say, Percy," The god of wine said, "It seems that you did a poor job educating Taylor Brase-"

"It's Thalia Grace," Thalia corrected getting even more irritated, "And Percy did a great job on giving me a tour."

"You know, it isn't very proper to interrupt the person speaking," Mr. D said annoyed, "Anyways, I'm going to go away now. Don't bother asking where I'm going, I won't answer you."

So, Mr. D left an annoyed Thalia Grace and an indifferent Percy Jackson.

"How do you deal with him?" Thalia asked.

"The truth is I don't think about it too much," Percy explained, "I just take everything he says with a grain of salt."

"Still, he bothers me."

"It seems you two have been getting together well," Chiron sighed, smiling as he walked over to Thalia and Percy. "But if I remember correctly both of you should be at the morning role call for cabins."

"I already told my cabin leader about it," Percy said causing Chiron to nod.

"And my cabin leader," Thalia smiled as she pointed at herself, "Already knows where I am."

Chiron laughed. "I see," Chiron said, "Well, Percy make sure Thalia gets fitted for training today."

Percy said that he would do so and then Chiron left the two be.

"Well, let's get you fitted," Percy said.

_"Like I said before, she would be a fine mate for you," _Blackjack teased.

Percy blushed. "But first let's put this guy back in the stables," Percy grumbled confusing Thalia.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"Shezus! This thing weighs a ton!" Thalia exclaimed after getting fitted for her thick leather armor.

"Yep, it does take a while to get used to," Percy smiled. "Now, let's get you a weapon."

Percy and Thalia were currently in the armory trying to find a weapon most suited for Thalia, who was looking at all the interesting weapons that littered the walls of the building.

"Well, let's start off with the classics," Percy said as he got a sword of the wall and offered it to Thalia, "Try this."

The blue-eyed girl took the sword and started to examine it from top to bottom. "Can I try it out?" Thalia asked.

"Sure," Percy shrugged, "Let's go outside and test it on some dummies."

So Thalia did what Percy suggested and came back. She asked to try another type of weapon and Percy gave her a double-sided axe. Which wasn't a good idea in hindsight because Thalia dropped it instantly almost cutting her toes off. Percy and Thalia had a laugh and Percy gave her another weapon to test out. But Thalia didn't like it and said, "It doesn't feel right.

Percy handed her another weapon.

And another weapon.

And another weapon.

And another weapon.

Until

"Gods why is this taking so long?" Thalia sighed both in exhaustion and frustration.

"These things don't happen right away," Percy said as he put away yet another weapon.

"How about you?"

"What about me?"

"How did you get your weapon?"

"Oh, this?" Percy then pulled out a ballpoint pen.

"Stop joking around Percy," Thalia said more frustrated than exhausted.

"Let me finish drawing it first," Percy said as he reached over to grab the cap of the pen. But didn't pull it. "You may want to step back a little bit."

Thalia took two steps back looking more impatient by the second. Then Percy uncapped the pen and it transformed into a grand bronze sword leaving Thalia shocked.

"How did you do that?" Thalia asked.

"It's a magical item," Percy answered as he did some neat tricks with his sword, "Chiron told me it was a gift from my dad. But he never knew who he was."

"Wow," Thalia walked up to Percy. "Can I look at it for a sec?"

"Um, aren't you already looking at it?"

Thalia then punched Percy once again in the shoulder. Percy groaned in pain then handed the sword to the black-haired girl.

"Wow, it's really light," Thalia said as she held the sword. "But despite that fancy transformer crap why is it a magic item. It's kind of flashy."

"It is," Percy smiled, "But watch this." Percy then went outside with Thalia following behind. He stopped and looked behind him and saw Thalia with genuine curiosity plastered all over her face.

He then threw his sword into the lake, being lost forever most likely. Thalia was surprised. But before Thalia could say anything, Percy reached into his pocket and dug out a nearly identical ball-point pen then uncapped it. The pen transformed into the same grand sword that Percy threw earlier.

"It returns to me whenever I lose it," Percy

explained. This explanation caused something to click in Thalia's mind.

"So when you saved me," Thalia said, "And the cyclops threw your sword, you weren't worried because you knew it would return to you."

"Yup," Percy confirmed.

"That's pretty cool," Thalia said, "But that doesn't help me get any closer to finding a weapon."

"Well, there's one weapon we need to try out."

"What's that?"

"Spears,"

Percy walked back to the armory and came out with a spear. It was considerably worn out with scratches and indents all over it but it was very usable.

Thalia grabbed the spear and proceeded to find her handling on it. It felt very natural. She didn't have fidget with it like she would with a bow or with a sword.

She then proceeded to attack the training dummy, each hit felt purposeful and smooth. There wasn't any time for a readjustment like with the previous weapons.

It just felt right.

After a while, Thalia turned to face a smiling Percy. "I think I found a keeper."

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Annabeth wasn't doing much right now. She couldn't find Thalia or Percy anywhere. And Luke has just been training. She was sitting on the steps to Cabin 6, reading a book.

What did you expect from a daughter of Athena?

She wasn't reading just any normal book. It was a book in Greek that went over the history of the Big Three. The majority of the book was made up of information about Zeus which any demigod would know. There was barely any information about Hades other than the fact that his offspring have the ability to travel in the shadows and control the dead.

But the information about Poseidon interested her the most. His offspring are able to manipulate water into their control. But they can control anything _with _water in them. That means they are able to control a wet towel if they wanted to. They also have the ability to breathe underwater, which is super cool!

Even though Greek mythology and history does fascinate her, her main interests lie in architecture. She wanted to make a monument as grand as the fountain in remembrance of the boy and his mother.

Hopefully, something even grander. Something that can please the gods. Something her mother can look on with approval. Something that her mortal family can actually be happy with.

She sighed sadly as she closed her book and got up. She decided that she would take a walk and besides, it's a nice day today. The walk would also give her time to think. For some peculiar reason, the dream about the boy still lingered in her mind.

There were a lot of things that didn't make sense. Like how was he able to not immediately pass out after taking a horn to the heart? Why did the Minotaur freeze? There were so many signs that pointed out that this was not the complete story.

Maybe she'll just ask Percy about it.

But her contemplative state was interrupted by someone shoving her to the ground. She looked up to see a muscular girl with brown hair smirking down at her.

"What do you want Clarisse?" Annabeth growled as she got up from the ground. Clarisse was the daughter of Ares, the God of War. Clarisse is the spitting personification of that title. The same could also be said about Cabin 5. It hasn't even been a week and Clarisse is one of Annabeth's least favorite people ever.

"Nothing Annie," Clarisse smiled, "Just thought I said hello."

"Don't call me Annie," Annabeth spat, "Leave me alone." Annabeth tried to walk in the opposite direction but was stopped by another daughter of Ares. She then realized how the girls of Cabin 5 surrounded her.

"What's the rush ?" Clarisse smirked even wider, "Trying to see your boyfriend, Percy?"

Annabeth's face went red in both anger and embarrassment. Mainly embarrassment. "Just go away, I have no quarrel with you," Annabeth said.

"Oh. Look at Annie! Using big words!" Clarisse said causing all the other girls to snicker and Annabeth to get angrier. "I'm afraid your Shakespearen crap won't help you."

"What do you want?" Annabeth repeated, really annoyed, "For you to leave me alone."

"Hm," Clarisse said in an obnoxious way, "Y'know your hat is pretty neat, why don't ya just hand it over?"

Annabeth's eyes widened. "How about you just leave me alone, you one-eyed cyclops," Annabeth gritted her teeth.

"The hard way it is," Clarisse sighed, "Hey girls, how about we go for a little swirl?"

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Annabeth was going to beat the living soul out of Clarisse. That was what she was repeating to herself to calm her nerves when approaching the girl's bathroom to make sure they wouldn't get in trouble for the quarrel that would occur.

And soon they arrived. Clarisse wasted no time in getting first blood as she struck Annabeth down.

Annabeth quickly got up but was soon met with Clarisse's meaty fists making themselves comfortable on the blond girl's skull. Annabeth realized that she wasn't going to win by trying to get up only to be struck down. The girl then kicked Clarisse's knees causing them to buckle. Annabeth then kicked Clarisse's stomach from the floor causing the daughter of Ares to get the wind knocked out of her.

Annabeth saw this as her opportunity to get off the floor and took it. Clarisse regained her senses and then glared down Annabeth, who was glaring back.

Clarisse then approached Annabeth with haste and swung for the head. Annabeth quickly ducked under the fist and right hooked Clarisse's liver. Clarisse groaned in pain as she grabbed Annabeth's neck holding her still so she could kneel her stomach. Annabeth felt her lungs simultaneously expand and squeeze the air out through her mouth.

Clarisse wasn't done, she then grabbed Annabeth's head and slammed it through the bathroom sink causing water to spray everywhere.

Annabeth attempted to get up but Clarisse just kicked her down. She tried to kick Clarisse's knees again but the kick was noticeably slower causing Clarisse to slam her foot on Annabeth's ankle.

Annabeth's nose was bleeding at this point and she had a bruise under her right eye.

"I'll say Annabeth, you put on a good fight," Clarisse smirked, "But I think I'll be taking that hat now."

Annabeth still stubbornly resisted Clarisse. But before the girl could've grabbed Annabeth's hat, a wave of water that was leaking from the smashed sink seemed to just grab Clarisse and flung her off Annabeth. Some water was splashed on Annabeth as well and for some reason only got on parts of her body that were injured.

"What the-" Clarisse was cut off by the toilets, and the other sinks bursting with water. It then smothered Clarisse and her goons, scaring them. "Let's get the hell out of here!"

And soon the daughters of Ares retreated from the girl's bathroom leaving Annabeth by herself.

"What on Tartarus just happened," Annabeth asked herself, "I should probably get to the infirmary."

But when Annabeth got up, she didn't feel any pain. In fact, she felt amazing! She looked in the mirror and saw that her bruises were gone. Her nose was still bleeding but she was essentially healed.

She needed to get out of here before someone comes into a destroyed bathroom. She walked outside but only took four steps before bumping into someone.

"Annabeth?" The person said. Annabeth looked at the person's green eyes.

"Percy?" Annabeth said surprised

"Why is your nose bleeding?" Percy asked suspiciously.

"Oh, it's a hot day," Annabeth lied as she wiped the blood off her lips, "My nose just got dry."

"Would the destroyed bathroom behind you happen to be related with your dried nose?"

…

…

…

"I could explain," Annabeth said slightly panicked.

"So do it," Percy sighed.

Annabeth then proceeded to tell him about how Clarisse picked a fight with her. She also told him about how the bathroom pretty much came to life and saved her from her hat being stolen.

"Huh, that sounds like Clarisse alright," Percy nodded.

"But what about the fact that the bathroom just had a flash flood," Annabeth asked, "How did that happen?"

"Well," Percy paused, "It happens."

"It happens?" Annabeth said unconvinced.

"Yes?" Percy said unsure. Annabeth looked at Percy's face. She could tell that he knew something. He was lying.

Annabeth needed to know what the heck was going on. "Why are y-"

"Hold on, your nose is bleeding still," Percy said as he lifted Annabeth's chin.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just helpin' you out," Percy answered.

He then pinched Annabeth's nose to stop the blood from flowing. Annabeth looked toward Percy's concerned face and saw his eyes.

Eyes that reflected a calm sea. They were beautiful. She just wanted to take a closer look at them. So close that their lips could tou-

No, wait!

'Stop it Annabeth, it's just infatuation!' The grey-eyed girl thought to herself once more.

"Anyways what were you saying?" Percy asked holding Annabeth's nose.

"Um," Annabeth hummed then blushed, "I forgot."

She swore she could've seen Percy breathe a sigh of relief.

"Welp, your nose is fine," Percy said as he pulled his hand away from Annabeth's face.

"Oh, thanks," Annabeth was still blushing, "Where have you been this whole entire time?"

Percy sighed as he and Annabeth started walking together. He then began to explain everything that happened with Thalia and Blackjack. He also told her that Thalia was at the dock staring at the scenery.

"Wow, you know how to ride a pegasus?" Annabeth asked invested in their conversation.

"Yeah, want to go on a ride sometime?" Percy asked.

"Really? That would be amazing," Annabeth exclaimed, excited.

Percy chuckled. "I guess it's a date," Percy said, but instantly regretted it when both his and Annabeth's face turned bright red.

"Yeah, cool," Annabeth said as she stared at the ground.

The two continued to walk in constant silence.

"Where are we walking?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," Annabeth stated, "I was just following you."

Percy sighed. "How about we pay Thalia a little visit to the lake?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Wanna race?"

"No, you'll just beat me. I saw how you outran Thalia."

"Well, how about we just run over there?" Percy smiled.

Annabeth laughed. "You're insufferable," she said in a joking manner.

"Thanks, I try to be."

"Well, let's run!"

The two took off running to Thalia. As they ran Annabeth looked at Percy who was focused on running at this point. She just can't get over him. Maybe, she actually likes him and it's more than just infatuation.

And she doesn't mind it too much.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

"I see that your son is quite comfortable with my daughter and granddaughter."

"Yes. He is," The god of the sea smiled from his throne in Olympus.

"I sense some pride in your voice brother," Zeus stated.

"Is that a problem?"

"No. But you should claim him soon."

"Why is that?"

"I hope you are aware my possession of utmost importance has been stolen from me."

"Yes. The Lightning Bolt. I'm aware," Poseidon nodded, "You sent out an announcement to find it. What is this about?"

"It has been brought to my attention that you and our brother have been communicating behind my back," Zeus stood up slowly from his throne and walked up to Poseidon, "Talking of stealing. Talking of an alliance."

"Brother, I assure you that no one is talking about such things," Poseidon assured, "And you know we aren't allowed to steal each other's powers."

"Yes. You are right about that," Zeus acknowledged as he stopped in front of Poseidon, "But our children. That's an exception."

"Are you accusing my son?" Poseidon asked digging his fingers in his armrest.

"Why yes," Zeus stated.

"That's an outrageous claim! He never even left camp!"

"You know as much as I do that he is as capable as any hero that can scale mountains, crush a dragon's heart with their bare hands, and lead an army with only his will. He has until the Summer Solstice to return the bolt to me," Zeus' voice boomed, "So I see it best that you claim him. The sooner he gives me my bolt, the more likely we will not break out into war."

"You speak madness," Poseidon claimed as his sea-green eyes narrow.

"I speak logically. I shall make sure that my bolt is returned to me. Even if I have to pry it from his cold-blooded hands," Zeus threatened.

The oceans rattled and Poseidon rose from his throne. "If you dare harm or forsake my boy once more," Poseidon warned in a dangerously low voice, "I shall make the ocean's red in your blood."

Zeus was surprised at his brother's stance. He dares to stand up to him.

"I'm afraid your empty threats won't change my mind," Zeus compromised, "If my bolt isn't in my hands by the Summer Solstice, there will be war."

"So be it," Poseidon sneered.

Zeus left his sight as if he was dust in the wind. Leaving Poseidon by himself to think.

He looked down to Percy. Who was with Thalia and Annabeth at a lake. They two were very fit to be Percy's partner. But that's not important in this moment. The God of the Sea continued to watch the three of them smiling and having fun.

'Just a little longer,' Poseidon promised, 'I swear it, I'll let my son have some peace before all the chaos.'

* * *

**A/N: Once again a much faster and longer chapter than I previously expected. But after a few chapters of this, I'll get back to posting for my other two stories, I swear. **

**But I addressed a lot of things in this chapter which could be overwhelming. So if you guys have questions I'll do my best to answer them in the next update. **

**Anyways, that's all folks!**

**Edit (12/9/19): I'm an actual dumbass. I fixed the Zeus and Poseidon's respective sibling age and who's younger and stuff. Oof**


	4. Chapter 4: Longview

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or source material. All rights go to Rick Riordan and their appropriate artists. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Longview**

* * *

_Percy was on a beach that had stormy waves and a raging sky over it. He was having another fever dream. _

_"Percy"_

…

_"Percy"_

…

_"Mom?" Percy asked recognizing his mother's voice. He instantly felt a familiar warmth wrap around him. A warmth that he missed so much._

_"I'm here Percy."_

_"What? Where?" Percy cried. He felt like he was seven years old all over again. He felt the hole in his heart from the minotaur tore open all over again. _

_"That isn't important-"_

_"What do you mean that isn't important! I have to find you!"_

_"Perseus. Please listen," Percy's mother begged, "There will be a war. And you are the only one that can do anything about it."_

_"What-That is so vague could you at least tell me what's going on?" Percy asked in a very pleading manner. _

_"I wish I could Percy. But I shouldn't even be here. I can't upset the Fates, further," Sally answered._

_"Wha-?" But before Percy could ask any more questions, Sally vanished. Despite not even seeing her in the first place, he felt her motherly presence melt away. "I'll find you! I promise! I'll make sure dad can hold you again!" Percy shouted as his knees dug into the sand of the beach._

_Then two things got his attention. A horse crying and an eagle shrieking. Percy looked up and saw a grand horse and a mighty eagle charging one another. _

_"What the hell is going on?"_

_Percy continued to look around where he was in his head. He was still on the beach watching a horse and eagle fight and claw each other for dominance. _

_He was more concerned than confused at the moment. For some odd reason, he didn't want the two majestic creatures to fight. He tried running toward the two but his legs weren't getting him anywhere. _

_The eagle clawed the horse's eyes while the horse bit the wings of the eagle. Both were killing each other. There was no winning side. It was just a brutal scene to behold. _

_Percy watched as gold like fluid stained the sand and the seas. _

_Both eventually stopped and observed each other's damaged body. _

_The horse was wheezing through its nose while the eagle tried to stand on its claws but stumbled all over the sand. _

_Both fell and laid motionless. _

_Percy's green-eyes couldn't believe what had happened. He couldn't help but feel like he was responsible for this fight and bloodbath. _

_He rubbed his eyes hoping to wake up. But when he opened them he was in a different place. _

_He just wanted to wake up right now. _

And like that he woke up in a cold sweat. He looked around Cabin 11 and saw that everyone was still asleep. The sun was barely rising and lightly glowed outside. It was most likely around 7 or 8 am.

He didn't know what the hell that dream meant. But he did know that he could use some fresh air right about now. So, he got up from his bed and sneaked out of the cabin trying his best not to disturb anyone.

When he was outside, he took one deep breath causing his lungs and chest to expand. He walked over to the dock where he spends most of his time where he would either listen to music or just lay there and soak the sun. Sometimes he would do both. When he arrived at his destination, he took a seat at the ledge of the dock and watched the sun slowly rise.

Was there a war coming? What did the Gods want with him? Why was he so important?

Despite asking himself these questions, he had a feeling in his stomach that he already knew the answers.

"Hey, Percy."

Percy turned around to see none other than Luke Castellan. "Hey Luke," Percy smiled, "You fitting in well?"

"I guess you could say that," Luke said as he took a seat by Percy, "Travis and Connor have been really helpful in getting me in the flow of the camp."

"That's good," Percy said, "Did they pull any pranks on you?"

Luke sighed. "Twice. The first one was giving me shoes that looked normal but they didn't tell me they flew. And the next thing I knew was that I was floating above the ground screaming my head off."

"Sounds about right."

"The second one was _so_ dumb. They decided it would've been a great idea to put itching powder in my shampoo. I was somehow jumpier than I was before."

Percy couldn't resist. He started laughing his bottom off. "I'm sorry, but that's too good!"

"Yeah," Luke said defeated.

"Hey, don't look so down," Percy said lightly hitting his friend's shoulder. "We have a rule in Cabin 11. Always go for the payback."

Luke smiled. "Yeah, I'm aware," Luke said, "But I need to find a way to prank them. So many have tried. So many have failed."

"Well, except me," Percy smirked.

"No way," Luke said in disbelief.

"Yeah way," Percy nodded, "I set up a bucket filled with water on top of the door and made it seem like that was the prank. But in reality, it was so much more."

Percy then explained how Travis and Conner laughed at his attempt. So when they tried to squeeze through the door to prevent the bucket from falling. But they fell through a specific area in the wooden floorboards next to the door, which prior to this was replaced with extremely thin wood. They fell into a huge pit of mud underneath the floorboards. Mud that had itching powder mixed in. Luke was laughing so hard that his face was turning red at this point of Percy's story. When the twins jumped out they tried to get the water bucket from the door down to wash themselves off. But the bucket wasn't filled with just water.

It was also filled with slugs and leeches in the water. By the end of it, they were running and screaming toward the lake.

"And they never got back at me. They said they can never do better than that," Percy smiled, "But I still watch my back for their attempts."

"That's great," Luke said now taking deep breaths from laughing so hard.

Percy nodded. "So have you made any new friends?"

"What are you, my mother?" Luke said sarcastically, "Well, Travis and Conner are pretty funny which you know already. Chiron is awesome. Grover is really cool. I try to stay clear of Clarisse. Charles is really nice. Mr. D is well…Mr. D. And I think that's about it."

"What about Thalia and Annabeth?"

Luke then started laughing. "They're great like always," Luke answered chuckling, "But don't tell them I told you this, but they don't stop talking about you."

Percy raised his eyebrows in surprise and confusion.

"They only say great things about you and I wouldn't be surprised if they are falling in love with you," Luke said causing Percy to chuckle.

"They're pretty cool too," Percy smiled.

"Do you like them?" Luke asked with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah," Percy said, "They are pretty great friends."

"But how about something more?" Luke asked.

"I don't think that would work out," Percy said now staring at the water.

"Why do you say that?" Luke asked.

"I'm just a beacon for bad luck," Percy answered.

"Oh c'mon. Dude, you saved Thalia literally last minute," Luke said five-starring Percy's back. "If anything, you are a beacon of good luck!"

"That's debatable," Percy sighed.

"Whatever dude," Luke sighed with Percy. "Just stop looking down on yourself. You undersell yourself way too much."

Percy rolled his eyes.

"You're like a hard-working farmer that makes the finest crops but you give it out for free."

"Okay."

"You're like a bottle of soda that says there's only 10 ounces but there's actually 15 liters."

"Seriously, I get-"

"You're like an insecure poet that makes pieces of-"

"LUKE!" Percy screamed, "I get it. Thank you for the words of encouragement. Now I am gonna go back to our cabin and take a nap."

Percy got up and proceeded to walk away from this social interaction.

"But you just woke up!" Luke yelled.

"I KNOW!" Percy yelled louder, probably waking up everyone in the camp.

Luke laughed at Percy as he walked back to Cabin 11.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Annabeth was standing in front of the monument that stood in the middle of the camp. It's been a couple of weeks since she arrived and she keeps on having dreams about the sea spawn.

But this dream was different. It was like the ones before but somehow more confusing. It wasn't what was in the dream that was confusing. It was the reason for seeing these dreams that stumped her.

This time, she dreamt of the boy and mother at a summer condo. It was placed near the beach and had a fantastic view of the ocean. The atmosphere could have been only described as lovely.

But they weren't the only ones there. There was also a man who played with the boy and cared for the mother. The man had raven-black hair and sea-green eyes. Annabeth was able to deduce that he was Poseidon. In her dream, they looked so happy.

She also finally got a good look at the boy. She wasn't able to get in her previous dreams because of how dark it was. But she was able to see him in this dream. And he looked exactly like Percy but was considerably younger. The boy had his striking green eyes and messy black hair. It was so surreal.

She wanted to wish the best for the son of Poseidon despite the rivalry between Athena and Poseidon. But her wishes would be in vain now that the son is dead.

That's what she would think if she wasn't the daughter of Athena. She was confident that Percy knew more than he let on. She was more than positive that Percy was related to Poseidon in some way. You'd have to be the most uneducated fool to not even consider that possibility. Annabeth is certain that Percy Jackson is the son of Poseidon. And he dodged questions related to his past which is extremely suspicious. Despite developing a hypothesis, she has no way to prove it.

She saw the boy die in her dreams. The boy had a hole in his heart. There is no way anyone could survive that without it leaving a mark or a _scar_. That would be crucial to Annabeth's plan. The first step was finding Percy.

"I KNOW!" A familiar voice exclaimed.

'Well, that wasn't so hard,' Annabeth smiled to herself.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Thalia was on the top of her cabin. Her cabin conveniently had a way to get on the roof and gaze at the sky above and the camp below. It was kind of difficult to get comfortable up there because of the slanted roof but it was still really nice nonetheless.

She couldn't believe it's been already a week since herself, Annabeth, and Luke have arrived. It went by so fast. She got used to everything at camp and wouldn't have had it any other way. She made lots of friends. She also learned a lot in camp. Thanks to Percy and Chiron.

Speaking of Percy, she can't figure him out. He's really cool and all but she doesn't know a single thing about him. Despite seeing and hanging out with him every day, she can't figure out who he was before camp. She knows that it's not any of her business but she can't help it. He pretty much knows almost everything about her so why can't she know anything about him?

Maybe if she listed out everything she knew about him, she could have some sort of Eureka! moment. First things first, his name is Percy Jackson. He likes Muse and Greenday. He's really good with a sword. He knows how to ride a pegasus.

And…

…

…

…

And that's about it.

Other than the fact, he was just a great all-around guy.

But she can't piece him together. Annabeth probably figured something out about him judging from the way she stares at him constantly and keeps on hanging out with him. It was kind of weird and bothered the heck out of Thalia.

She wanted to ask him about his past, but he does everything to avoid that subject. He doesn't talk about it. And she doesn't feel that comfortable with him to simply ask him out of the blue. She'll just ask Annabeth. Thalia isn't in the mood to really think right now.

"I KNOW!" A voice echoed.

'Oh, wonder who could that be,' Thalia thought to herself in a sarcastic manner.

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Percy sighed as he walked back to his cabin. He should probably get ready for today especially for what was going to happen today.

Two teams and two flags and one objective. Capture the Flag. A game of wits, strength, and luck. For Percy, it's mainly luck. He tries to lay low for the game while also still having fun. You'll most likely find him on the front lines of the battlefield and blending in with everyone else.

He doesn't want anyone getting suspicious about him. And he already has everyone looking at him right now because he saved Thalia. If he wanted to keep a low profile he should've let her die but he couldn't do that. And he doesn't regret doing it and would do it a thousand times.

In other words, he has a hard time being _ordinary_.

…

…

…

Well, as _ordinary_ as a demigod could be.

But right now, he just has to not draw a lot of attention.

"What are you thinking about Percy?"

Percy looked behind him to see no one. He did a small twirl to see if anyone was near him and saw nothing.

"Why do you keep on stalking me?" Percy sighed.

"It's fun," Annabeth said, appearing in front of Percy as she took her cap off her head.

"I'm not that interesting," Percy chuckled.

"You're right," Annabeth agreed, "You're the least interesting demigod here."

"Thank you," Percy smiled.

"You slayed a cyclops with ease."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Let me correct myself. You slayed a cyclops _in the dark_ with ease," Annabeth smirked.

Percy shook his head in a light-hearted manner as he started to walk away. Annabeth followed.

"You also established yourself as an important part of the camp with displaying both combat skills and a friendly presence," Annabeth said as she kept up with Percy.

"Yup, nothing interesting about me whatsoever."

"Despite all the praise you get, you remain annoyingly modest."

Percy stayed quiet this time and listened.

"Y'know with you being so humble and great at everything you do," Annabeth said, "I am kind of surprised your godly parent wouldn't claim you for those skills. You would think they would be quite proud of their son enough to claim them at the first moment."

"Great deduction skills, Sherlock Holmes," Percy laughed as he clapped slowly, "You manage to list out a bunch of stuff." He paused. "I don't get what you're trying to say"

"Percy, I know you're hiding something," Annabeth stopped in front of him causing Percy to stop in his tracks. "I have an idea."

"But no proof," Percy finished.

"Exactly," Annabeth sighed.

"What's your idea?"

"That would be telling."

"I know," Percy said, "That's what it's called when you communicate information."

Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Wanna head to breakfast?" Percy asked, "I'm starvin'."

Annabeth sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Percy got his food and saw Thalia poked at her bacon as she sat alone once again at her table. He gained a wide smile as he walked over.

"Hello there!" Percy greeted as he sat at Cabin 1's table.

"Hey Perce," Thalia smiled.

"Oh, you gave me a nickname," Percy said as he dug into his blue pancakes.

"You and blue food," Thalia chuckled as she shook her head.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"I like-"

"Blue food," Thalia finished, "You don't need to defend yourself. I heard it all before."

"I still feel the need to defend myself," Percy pouted as he stuffed his mouth with pancakes.

Thalia couldn't help but laugh making Percy deflate slightly.

"Laughing at me won't make me feel very secure about myself," Percy sighed.

"Oh, you're such a baby."

"And you're such an uncultured swine."

"What?"

"I don't even know," Percy admitted, "I just want to eat some pancakes."

Thalia chuckled as Percy demolished his pancakes. She was honestly amazed at how vigorous he tore apart his food. He really liked the food, which anyone could deduce. She could add that to the list of things she knows about Percy.

"So, what's been going on with you?" Thalia asked.

"Oh, nothin' much," Percy smiled, "I'm just psyched for Capture the Flag today."

"Yeah," Thalia agreed, "It seems that everyone is pretty pumped for that today."

"Heck yeah!" Percy said, "It's super fun if you know what you're doing."

"Do you know what you're doing?" Thalia inquired.

"Kind of," Percy admitted, "I just charge the frontlines and have fun."

"So, you don't strategize or anything?" Thalia raised her eyebrow. She knew Percy was smart from how he handled the cyclops situation so it seemed out of character to simply charge without a second thought.

"Nope," Percy smiled, "It's just a great way to hang back and have a great time."

Thalia supposed that made sense in some ways. After all, Percy does train a lot. So it would make sense for him to take a break when it comes to such a competitive game. It seems logical but not very genuine. Thalia couldn't quite lay her finger on what stood out about Percy's choice to be so passive during Capture the Flag. It's best described as a gut feeling.

Crap, how long has she been thinking? Percy was beginning to look worried. She had to come up with a response.

"Well, good luck to your team," Thalia said.

"Um, don't you mean our team?" Percy asked.

Crap, they were on the blue team along with Annabeth and Luke. 'Great thinking, Thalia,' Thalia mentally condemned herself.

"Yeah definitely," Thalia said like the pure genius she was.

Percy raised an eyebrow at her. He then continued to shovel pancakes into his mouth. Dang. Now that Thalia thinks about it, Percy has probably consumed a whole entire mountain of pancakes by now.

"Do you have one?" Percy asked, pulling Thalia's mind to the real world.

"Huh?"

"You have one? A game plan, I mean," Percy clarified.

"Oh. I think I'll figure it out when I get on the battlefield," Thalia answered.

"In other words, you don't know what you're doing," Percy stated.

"Well…" Thalia was stumped.

"You could follow me," Percy suggested, "You could probably scare half of the Ares cabin just by looking at them."

Thalia chuckled. "That's not a bad idea."

"I know it is," Percy smirked, "Cause I thought of it."

Thalia then threw a crumpled napkin at Percy, to which he said, "Eh, I deserved it."

They had a nice chuckle but were interrupted by a conch horn being blown. Percy and Thalia rose from their seats.

"Let's go kick some ass, Sparky," Percy smiled as he held out his fist for a fistbump. Instead, he got punched in the shoulder. He replied with, "Ow! Eh, deserved it."

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Once everyone gathered together into their respective teams, Chiron wasted no time in explaining the rules. Most campers knew the drill, no maiming or killing, the creek is farthest anyone is allowed to go, magical items were allowed, and etc.

Everyone was really excited about today's game. This was quite self-evident from the war cries and weapons vigorously clashing in a constant rhythm that were heard at the beginning of the game.

Annabeth could hear that all the action all the way from the creek. She wished that she could join the frontlines but she was staying back for her plan.

Her plan was to separate the strongest cabin from the red team. Who was she going to do that?

That's right, you guessed it. Annabeth is going to bait them into the creek. Hopefully, creating a hole in their offensive and defensive abilities.

She knew that Clarisse and her goonies would go after her. Everyone knew that Clarisse was just a jerk. But she was especially cruel toward Annabeth. Hence, creating Annabeth's ingenious plan.

Not the best plan when compared to her standards but it does the job. She told Thalia and Luke her plan which they didn't like whatsoever. She didn't have time to tell Percy since he dashed into trouble like the fool he was.

Annabeth sighed as she watched the water rush down the creek and reflected the sun.

Her peaceful observations were interrupted by laughing and the sound of footsteps walking toward her. Annabeth looked over to see Clarisse and her goonies collectively smirking.

"Well, well, well," Clarisse smiled, "Look how brave the great Annabeth Chase is!"

"Wow, thank you for stating the obvious," Annabeth spat. Annabeth then noticed how the daughters of Ares surrounded her like countless times before. There were 7 girls surrounding her holding a variety of weapons. Clarisse, who was among the 7, held her spear. Annabeth knew very well what that spear could do to someone. She just had to wait for Clarisse and her goonies to jump her and stay clear of that spear. They would most likely do that at the same time or one at a time. Either way, she would be ready.

"So Annie's all by herself? Where's your boyfriend, Prissy?" Clarisse grinned.

Annabeth felt her blood boil. Before she knew it, she was charging Clarisse. Clarisse smirked as she raised her spear and aimed it at Annabeth and lunged it forward. Annabeth quickly dodged as she unsheathed her bronze dagger and wielded it in her strong hand which was her right. Annabeth continued to charge forward and attempted to slice Clarisse's palm.

Clarisse smirked as Annabeth closed the distance between the two. When Annabeth was going for the slash, Clarisse stepped on Annabeth's shoe and dodged the blade. Once Annabeth saw that her attack had failed, she tried to retreat but couldn't because of Clarisse's fat foot. Clarisse then punched Annabeth making her fall right on her bottom.

Annabeth quickly raised up and started to taste a metallic liquid in her mouth. She ignored it as she focused her concerns on one of the goonies, who was holding a mace, tried to sneak up on her. Annabeth quickly did a roundhouse kick to the goony's face. They looked angrier as they charged Annabeth again but left many openings in their stance. Annabeth quickly grabbed the girl's right arm which held the weapon and disarmed her. The blond girl wasted no time in making sure that the girl would stay down as she made a series of light slashes across the girl's right arm making sure that she wouldn't try to pick up the weapon without feeling plenty of pain.

'One down, six left to go,' Annabeth noted.

Annabeth got ready for the next girls that dared attack. Instead of one girl charging, two charged the child of Athena from opposing sides. One held a sword while the other was armed with a spear. Annabeth noted how the sword had a hole in its hilt for "Aesthetic".

Annabeth had an idea.

She turned toward the girl with the spear but focused on the girl behind her. She tried her best to observe how close the sword-wielding girl was while facing away from her. Just before she could be impaled by the spear, she quickly dodged it and used the flat side of her dagger to guide the spear into the hole of the sword that was wielded by the now shocked girl.

The girl who was wielding the spear saw what was happening, she stopped giving Annabeth plenty of time to grab spear by its long handle and pull it toward herself causing both of the descendants of the god of war to be pulled off balance then forward causing both of them to fall on their sides. Annabeth then yanked the spear toward the girl who wielded it causing the bottom of it to her nose then pushed it toward the girl who had its sword stuck on the spear. Annabeth was cautious enough that she was able to graze and severely injure the girl and not stab and kill her.

Annabeth sighed in triumph. 'Three down. Four left to-'

Her chain of thought was quickly interrupted by a sharp object grazing her right arm and electrifying her. She instantly dropped her dagger as a result. Annabeth quickly moved away from the object only to see that the object was Clarisse's electric spear. One slash from it could numb any part of it that was to make contact with it.

Annabeth cursed mentally as she desperately shook her right arm awake. It was no use.

"I must admit, Annie," Clarisse said as she slowly clapped, "You put up one heck of a boring fight. Fortunately, it'll end soon."

Annabeth's eyes widened as Clarisse called all her goons to charge Annabeth all at once on her signal.

'Shit,' Annabeth mentally cursed.

She can't do anything at the moment. In other words, she's completely screwed. Her right arm is numb and essentially useless. She was also extremely tired.

Annabeth grunted as she picked up her dagger with her left arm despite it being considerably weaker than her right one. She did her best to look intimidating but only got a boisterous laugh from Clarisse.

"Oh," Clarrise laughed, "Don't make me laugh. Just give up."

Annabeth simply spat the blood that swam around in her mouth. "Shut up," Annabeth growled, "If you're going to talk me to death, it won't work."

"And she still has some bite!" Clarisse stated, "Admit it, Annie. You lost."

Annabeth ground her teeth. She will most likely lose this fight. She probably shamed Athena's name for all she knew. But it would be more shameful if she were to roll over and let the energy and dignity get kicked out of her.

"As far as I can see," Annabeth said, "I'm still standing."

"You can take a seat," A new voice suggested.

Everyone turned toward the origin of the voice and saw a boy with sea-green eyes and messy black hair. He only had a pen in his hand and slowly walked toward the group.

"How's it going, Annabeth," Percy greeted as he moved past the girls and toward the blond girl.

"Wha-? Percy? What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked, dumbfounded.

"Just checkin' up on you," Percy smiled, "You just vanished like a demigod's godly parent."

Annabeth couldn't help but laugh. It seemed like a couple of the Ares girls couldn't hold it in either. Clarisse quickly glared at them making them shut up.

"So, you're in one heck of a pickle," Percy observed as he looked at the war-hungry demigods that surrounded both Annabeth and the unclaimed boy. "I see you made plenty of new friends."

Annabeth simply rolled her eyes in response.

"Prissy, get out the way or we'll destroy you," Clarisse growled as she raised her spear toward Percy.

"It's Percy," The sea-green haired boy then gasped dramatically. "Oh, Clarisse. I'm so sorry."

"What," Clarisse growled, clearly annoyed.

"I honestly didn't know."

"What!"

"I always knew that you resembled a cyclops but I had no idea you had the same mental capacity as one."

Annabeth started bursting out laughing along with Percy who couldn't carry his dramatic persona much longer.

Percy could see that he did it now and that only made him smile. The moment he saw Clarisse lunge forward, he uncapped his pen, which turned into a sword. He quickly threw his sword at the spear causing it to be pulled out of Clarisse's hands.

Now disarmed, Clarisse raised her fists to clobber Percy. Percy saw this and reached into his pockets.

Annabeth was mentally screaming at Percy. Why in the name of Hades was Percy digging in his pockets? Was he trying to look for a Mars Bar?

Percy then took his hand out of his pocket revealing a ball-point pen. He uncapped it, transforming it into a sword. He lightly slashed Clarisse's knuckles causing her to draw back her hands in pain.

"Stand down," Percy suggested.

Clarisse didn't listen. She instantly called for her goonies to charge Percy. But no one even took a step toward Percy. Percy looked around to see the girl's scared.

"What are you all doing!?" Clarisse shouted, "It's just-"

Percy interrupted, "I think you all should defend your flag next time. Especially with a loose Luke around."

Clarisse's eyes widened in realization. She turned to Annabeth. "You little…"

Percy smiled. "I think it's safe to say that you lost."

Clarisse's face got extremely red. "Let's go," Clarisse growled as she left the creek. Her goonies followed and picked up the injured.

And soon it was just an injured Annabeth and an unscathed Percy. Annabeth then collapsed causing Percy to scurry toward her.

"You okay?" Percy asked as he looked and observed her injuries. "Oh, you'll be fine. Nothing that a little nectar can take care of."

"It was you."

"What?"

"You were my guardian angel," Annabeth stated as she stared at the river flowing in the creek, "You were the one who watched over me in the bathroom and protecting me from Clarisse."

Percy sighed as he took a seat next to Annabeth, "It was that obvious, huh?"

"Yup," Annabeth smiled, "Y'know next time you are going to be a secret guardian you should be more discrete."

"What did I do?"

"You literally took care of me and took me into the infirmary right after you _secretly_ saved me," Annabeth explained, "It wasn't hard for me to be able to piece everything together."

Percy started laughing. "Yeah, I was a pretty lousy secret guardian."

"Yep," Annabeth laughed with Percy. Then there was silence. A conch horn was heard, pronouncing that the game was over.

Percy got up and started to walk away. "Well, that was a good game. We should get going and get you to the infirmary. Can you walk?"

"Tell me about the son of Poseidon," Annabeth asked out of the blue.

Percy froze. "Annabeth. I told you the story."

"Tell me the _whole_ story," Annabeth demanded.

"Annabeth-"

Annabeth suddenly screamed in pain. Percy turned around and saw a giant dog on top of Annabeth. The dog clawed and clawed at Annabeth leaving deep wounds all around her body. Each swipe and claw made the daughter of Athena cry and scream.

Percy let his ADHD act by itself as he charged forward and quickly decapitated the bloodhound with ease. Percy quickly rushed and kneeled to Annabeth's side.

"Annabeth!" Percy heard someone called out.

He looked over to see Thalia and Chiron among other campers running over to the creek where Annabeth laid and Percy kneeled.

"Percy, what happened?" Chiron asked.

"A bloodhound came out of nowhere and attacked Annabeth," Percy stated as he examined Annabeth's new wounds.

Her clothes were ripped and blood-soaked them.

"Get some nectar and ambrosia, immediately," Chiron requested to an Apollo camper.

"Annabeth, can you hear me?" Thalia asked as she kneeled next to Percy, who was clenching his fists so hard that his nails dug into his palms causing it to bleed.

"Thalia?" Annabeth meekly whispered.

Thalia had tears running down her eyes as she stared down at her dear friend.

"Percy," Thalia said with a shaky breath, "What are we going to do?"

Percy was silent as he debated with himself.

'I have to save her now.'

_'She isn't worth discarding 5 years of effort toward. I spent way too much energy hiding my secret.'_

'To be honest, I did a crappy job at hiding it.'

_'She was on to my secret. It's better this-'_

'That's just bullshit. I am not gonna leave someone I care about again.'

_'But-'_

'But I am gonna save her and I don't care about whether or not I get excluded or get treated like a freak.'

And with that Percy carefully picked up Annabeth who winced in pain at the sudden contact.

"Dad, I think it's about time," Percy said causing many to look on in confusion.

Chiron simply nodded at Percy's action.

Grover whispered something along the lines of, "About time."

Percy carefully carried Annabeth as if she was a bride toward the running waters. Once his feet were submerged in the water he kneeled down. He slowly submerged Annabeth underwater but kept her head above the surface to let her breath. Her blood washed away from her clothes and body. Her wounds from the bloodhound and the confrontation before slowly sealed themselves like holes in a piece of clothing being sewn together by a skilled artisan.

Many watched the boy hold the girl in the water as if it would determine the rest of their lives. Like many of the demigods who watched, Thalia was shocked. Chiron smiled while Grover had a dumb grin on his face.

Percy then lifted Annabeth up from the waters showing all her wounds were gone. Her skin was as smooth as a new born's.

Percy lightly shook Annabeth. "You alright, wise girl?"

Annabeth barely opened her eyes but soon widened when she looked above Percy's head. "I knew it," She muttered in triumph.

Percy followed her eyes and saw a trident proudly displaying his godly parent. After so long, he has been finally claimed.

Chiron wasted no time and kneeled. "All hail! Percy Jackson! The son of Poseidon!"

Grover followed Chiron but did his best to over-exaggerate his kneeling and smiled at Percy, who light-heartedly shook his head at his best friend's antics.

Soon the demigods who witnessed the miracle also kneeled. Some were more reluctant than others.

Percy didn't like the attention. He felt quite exposed now. "Um, so are we going to take this girl to the infirmary or we all are just gonna stay here until things get awkward?"

Chiron chuckled along with many of the other campers. "Very well, let's get Miss Chase to the infirmary."

"In other words," Percy smirked, "You all could stop kneeling."

The campers collectively raised but didn't move from their spots and stared at the Annabeth being held by Percy.

Percy ignored them and turned his attention toward Annabeth. "Can you walk?"

"Yeah but…" Annabeth blushed, "Can you?"

Percy chuckled, "Yeah, let's go, wise girl."

Someone from the Aphrodite Cabin squealed. "Oh, my Gods! I knew Percabeth is the OTP!"

Percy blushed while Annabeth's ears started to turn red.

"What? What are you talking about?" Some girl exclaimed.

"Thank you," Annabeth sighed in relief that someone saw how ridiculous this situation was.

"It's all about Perlia!" The same girl protested.

A light red hue graced Thalia's cheeks.

"Perlia? Percabeth?" Someone cried, "What lame names! We could come up with something better! Right!"

And soon everyone in the Aphrodite Cabin were debating names.

Percy leaned and whispered to Annabeth. "We should go," Annabeth nodded. And with that, the pair along with many others left the Cabin 10 discussing and scheming.

As Percy walked and looked ahead he knew that life was going to get much more complicated.

* * *

**A/N: WHOOOOWEEEE! This chapter took one hell of a long time to write. I went through 2 drafts before I settled for this version. So yeah. I am pretty happy how this chapter turned out. Of course, there are many things that were answered and many things that weren't. **

**I also want to address all the reviews I received and say thanks for giving me actually good reviews and giving me criticism. And I agree with every point everyone has made addressing the pacing of the relationship. So I will try my best to slow things down a bit. This story has received the best reviews I've ever had. And I want more criticism that helps improve the story in the best way possible without totally compromising what I want this story to be.**

**I am so annoyed when I see writers saying **_**be easy on me. I'm new.**_ **I hate that, you shouldn't be so protective of your story. If you put something on the internet it has the right to be demolished. If you complain about reasonable and constructive criticism for your story, you annoy me. **

**Anyways sorry about the rant. Let me acknowledge some of the reviews real quick. **

**Hadsy-I like the idea of making Annabeth a grunge fan but I think I'll make her like a different genre. But a great suggestion!**

**Anonymously96-I made Zeus a dick for now. He will most likely change throughout the story. And I can't tell you anything about Luke for now. **

**Once again, thank you for the reviews. If any of you guys have questions don't be afraid to leave a review or PM me.**

**Also, I have one more story for Percy Jackson that I'm planning to publish. It's kind of odd like this one. **

**Anyways, That's all folks!**


	5. Chapter 5: Let Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own any characters or source material. All rights go to Rick Riordan and their appropriate artists. **

* * *

**Chapter 4: Let Down**

* * *

If Percy could describe his situation right now with a word or two it would be, _that happened. _He was sitting next to Annabeth, who was wearing a clean set of an orange Camp-half Blood shirt and grey jeans, on a bed in the medical wing. She recovered pretty quickly and didn't need any Ambrosia or Nectar for her wounds thanks to Percy. She was just being checked up on by an Apollo camper, named Michael. He was currently asking the daughter of Athena some questions, like _On a scale of 1-10, How do you feel? _and _Are there any weird bumps? _Etc. Etc.

Percy ran his hand through his hair, which got occasionally caught because of how messy it was. Other than reflecting on the previous events of a Hellhound appearing out of nowhere and himself being claimed. He was contemplating what to do in his current situation. He should take this one step at a time. Well, to elaborate, one GIGANTIC step at a time.

"Well, Annabeth," Michael clicked his tongue, "It looks like you're ready to go out there in the world again." Michael then smiled, "Thanks, to the Son of Poseidon, you recovered pretty nicely."

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth said to the black-haired teen.

"You're welcome," Percy smiled.

"Anyways," Michael clapped his hands and rubbed them together, "I'll leave you two alone." And with that Michael left the two alone to talk.

Typical of teenagers who are developing their hormones, they sat in an awkward silence. Annabeth played with the curls in her hair while Percy rapidly shook his leg up and down.

"So," Percy said, breaking the silence, "I guess we're alone now."

"Do you ever not state the obvious?" Annabeth groaned.

Percy laughed as he laid fully on his back on the bed causing the mattress to bounce a little. "That's a little hard for me to do," Percy reasoned.

There was another wave of silence that washed over the two. Annabeth was the first to break from it.

"What are you going to do now?" Annabeth asked.

Percy sharply exhaled through his nose. "I have no idea. I was hoping to talk to Chiron and get some sort of plan," Percy explained, "I didn't think this far for when something like this would happen."

"You had a plan?"

"Well, if you don't count me asking Chiron to keep my claiming ceremony to like one sentence and have it be like 2 seconds," Percy said, "Then I had none."

"So, Chiron knew," Annabeth mumbled. She then let out a frustrated groan as she slapped her forehead. "I am so stupid! Of course, he knew."

"Let me guess," Percy smiled, "He said something really cryptic?"

Annabeth nodded. "I am guessing Grover knew as well."

"Correctamundo!" Percy paused, "I have never used that word and hopefully I'll never use it again."

Annabeth chuckled. "You never finished telling me the story."

"Oh, _that_ story?" Percy asked, causing Annabeth to nod, "I did."

"Well, you only finished one part of a story," Annabeth said. "A story that's still going on."

Percy looked at her confused.

"Alright, that was a bad line," Annabeth confessed, "But, you know what I mean."

Percy turned his neck to the left, creating a popping sound. "Well, there isn't much to say," Percy said, "I was dying and there was a hole in my heart. I should have died right there and then. But I didn't."

"You're a terrible storyteller."

"Hey! I did an alright job," Percy chuckled, "I would write you an entire essay but I don't like keeping friends in suspense. Also, I am not very good at writing, as you know."

Annabeth sighed, "Could you at least tell me how you survived."

"You're a daughter of Athena," Percy smiled mischievously, "You could figure it out."

Annabeth scoffed. "Fine. I'll figure it out. I'll prove you wrong."

"I never said you couldn't," Percy said, "Actually, I am pretty sure I said you could do it."

Annabeth felt a wave of heat rise to her face. "Oh. I'll still do it."

"I know you will," Percy grunted as he hopped off the bed and onto his feet. "I need to visit Blackjack. See ya when you figure it out."

And with that Annabeth was alone, already contemplating on how Percy survived. Percy started chuckling when he heard Annabeth rapidly mumbling, theorizing how Percy survived.

Percy whistled to himself as he walked away from the medical bay. He could hear a couple of campers whispering to each other as they stared at him as if he was the son of one of the big three. Despite acting carefree he was thinking.

'Ok. After I visit Blackjack, I need to first talk to Chiron about my cabin,' Percy thought to himself, 'Then, I need to say goodbye to my cabin mates as I move. Maybe do another prank on Travis and Connor while I'm at it.'

"Hm, what else do I need to do?" Percy asked himself aloud.

"How about one last training session?"

Percy turned his head to see a certain blond son of Hermes, who was already in his training gear and has a sword sheathed by his side.

"That is now on my to-do list," Percy replied as he clapped his hands together in excitement, "Minus well get it out of the way now."

* * *

**/~/**

* * *

Percy and Luke were both going at it and both exchanging attacks. They were currently in the arena among many other campers, mainly campers from Cabin 5, were training with each other.

Luke was quick as he attempted to lightly slash Percy's limbs to earn his victory. But Percy was still unharmed and was just as quick as Luke if not, quicker. Percy was mainly on the defense as he effortlessly blocked each attack, observing Luke's movements. As he did so, a sharp ringing of two swords sounded in a swift rhythmic pattern.

"Watch your footing," Percy suggested.

Percy blocked another attack.

Percy commented, "Have more control of your blade."

And another.

"Don't hesitate."

Percy, once again, blocked another slash from Luke, who reacted by swiftly lunging his sword forward, giving Percy an opportunity to throw the son of Hermes off. Percy quickly dodged the attack, and lodged his blade at the base of Luke's sword. Percy smiled smugly as he pulled his blade away from Luke, disarming him. Percy then pointed Riptide at Luke's chest.

"I yield," Luke sighed and grumbled, "You beat me again."

"Hey, you did an awesome job, dude!" Percy smiled as Riptide went back to being a pen. "You improved a lot!"

"Really?" Luke asked, excited.

"Yeah," Percy said, "You could honestly be an amazing warrior if you keep training like this."

"Well, that would be hard if you're in a different cabin now," Luke sighed.

"Well, who said I wouldn't train with you?" Percy asked, confused, "Just because we are in different cabins doesn't mean we can't train with one another."

"Huh, you're right," Luke said in realization, "So, what's next on your bucket list before you move to a different cabin."

"Huh, let me think," Percy said, "I've always wanted to go to Disneyland."

Both of them shared a laugh as they walked out of the training arena and stripped their armor off their bodies.

"But for real," The blond teen said, taking off his helmet, "What's next?"

"Well, I do need to pay Chiron and Blackjack a visit," Percy replied as he took off the heavy leather Chestplate that protected him.

Both continued to talk and walk after they had left the arena.

"What about Thalia?" Luke asked.

Percy stopped walking. "Oh. Crap. I completely forgot about her," Percy confessed.

"I'm hurt."

Both Luke and Percy looked behind them to see none other than the daughter of Zeus, who had an unreadable expression on her face. She was wearing her leather jacket and a black tank top underneath.

Luke patted Percy on the back, "I should leave you two alone." And with that Luke left Percy with Thalia. As Luke walked away, Percy playfully mouthed, "_Traitor_." Causing Luke to laugh a bit. Luke then mouthed back, _"Good luck."_

Then it was just the daughter of the sky and the son of the sea.

"So," Thalia said.

"So," Percy repeated.

"Son of Poseidon, huh?" Thalia said, trying to make conversation, "I knew it."

"No, you didn't," Percy stated.

"Yeah, I did."

"No," Percy repeated, "You didn't."

"Ok, fine. I didn't," Thalia raised her hands up as if she was confessing, "Annabeth may have blabbered to me about it and I didn't believe her."

"I knew it," Percy smiled, smugly, "So, how's it hanging?"

"It's been pretty ordinary, well, as ordinary it gets for a demigod. Hmm, what else?" Thalia said in an exaggeratedly contemplative way with her finger tapping on her chin, "OH! And I just discovered that my friend is my cousin!"

"Do you want an oscar for best performance or somethin'?" Percy said, rolling his eyes, "What's up with the dramatics?"

"Don't get sassy with me."

"Don't get dramatic with me," Percy retorted as he started walking, knowing that Thalia would follow, which she did.

"Where we headed?" Thalia asked as she intertwined her hands and put them behind her head.

"To the stables," Percy responded, "I need to pay Blackjack a visit."

"Hey, you're not planning to escape are you?" Thalia pointed at Percy accusingly.

"No," Percy said, looking offended, "That would be an overreaction. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because the secret that you tried to keep during the whole entire time you've been here has been exposed?" Thalia said, sarcastically.

"Now, you're being sassy," Percy stated.

"I am just making an observation," Thalia responded, smugly.

"What are you Sherlock Holmes?" Percy asked, sarcasm practically leaking from his tone.

The two then glared at each other. Both of their glares could scare off armies and cause shivers to run down a Titan's spine. But Percy couldn't resist a chuckle at the situation they were in. Thalia couldn't help but smile at the situation also. Soon both started laughing at how ridiculous it truly was. The fact that they started glaring at each other for no apparent reason other than the other being sassy was quite an entertaining thought.

They continued to joke around as they walked to the stables where Blackjack was.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for two things. 1. For the short chapter. 2. For the bad news I have.**

**I am going on a hiatus (which is most likely permanent). I am truly sorry.**

**Thanks to everyone who enjoyed my stories and showed support. I really enjoyed doing this. But I feel that I don't want to do this forever. So sorry. **

**Maybe I'll come back. Maybe.**

**But once again. Sorry.**


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